A New World of Trouble
by frostmoon13
Summary: After leaving gloom island, Zoro reunites with the rest of the Strawhats and sails to the new world. One day, they get an unexpected visit from someone Zoro would never expect. What's the consequence? Life on the Sunny is turned upside down, of course. Sequel to A Thousand Words.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! This is the sequel to A Thousand Words! Hope you like it!**

**I don't own One Piece or any of it's characters. Only my OC. **

Chapter 1

The open sky was completely cloudless. Gulls flew across the horizon. The fresh air and clean sea spray were a huge improvement from where he'd stayed for two years. Roronoa Zoro was splayed out on the grassy deck of the Thousand Sunny, wafting in that drowsy, grey area between sleep and waking. It had only been a month or so since the Strawhat crew had gathered together again, and they'd already been through so much. The two years he spent on Gloom island seemed like a hazy dream.

Zoro took a look around the deck.

Luffy was sitting on Sunny's head, shouting 'I'm gonna be king of the pirates!' at the open sea. Nami was tending to her tangerine grove, humming to herself. Robin was reading a book on a lawn chair. Franky was guzzling cola, manning the helm, and having an animated discussion with Usopp and Chopper. Brook was sitting on the mast next to the crow's nest, playing _Bink's Brew_ on his violin. Sanji was in the kitchen, preparing lunch. It smelled pretty good, although Zoro would never say so.

The newest addition to the crew, Jimbei the fishman, was standing at the bow next to Luffy, smiling. Ever since Jimbei had cut ties with Big Mom, he looked a lot happier. As if a great weight had been removed from his shoulders.

Zoro smiled, and put his hand in his pocket. His eyes widened. His fingers had closed around a small seed. He pulled it out, and gazed at the shiny shell. The seed had been given to him by Kess, Hawk Eye Mihawk's adopted daughter, a girl who was like a little sister to him.

Zoro was amazed at how good a condition the seed was in. It had survived a plunge in the sea on the way to fishman island, a huge battle against the New Fishman Pirates, the oven and the deep-freeze of Punk Hazard, the battle at Desrosa, not to mention all the other weird weather conditions of the new world.

Zoro got up, and clutching the seed in his hand, he walked over to Nami. She was still tending to her tangerine grove. "Hey, Nami," he said.

"What's up, Zoro?" she asked. "If you want any money, I'd be happy to lend you some... at 300% interest."

"Yeah, no thanks." he said. He held out the seed. "I want to plant this, but I don't know the first thing about planting trees. Could you give me a hand?"

Nami took the seed in her hands. "You want to plant this? Where did you get it? What kind of tree is it?" Zoro nodded. "Yes I do want to plant it. It's a sakura tree."

"A sakura tree?"

"Yeah, it has blue flowers, for some reason." He paused before answering her last question. "I got it on the island I stayed at for the past two years." Pretty vague, he knew, but hell would freeze over before he'd tell anyone on the crew where he'd been and who he'd been with. The crew would never let him hear the end of it. Especially not that idiotic love-cook.

Nami dug a hole in the soil, placed the seed, and covered it with dirt. "There we go." she said. "It's nice that you thought of planting it."

Zoro nodded. "Thanks, Nami."

He went back to the side rail on the port side of the ship. He had kept his promise. He had planted Kess' seed on the Sunny.

He sighed. He missed Kess, but he had to keep moving forward. Kess would probably go to the new world herself in maybe seven years. He sighed and closed his eyes.

Then, he heard a whistling sound. _That's odd._ he thought. _I've heard a similar whistle before... Wait a minute... Don't tell me..._

He got up, looked over the edge, and almost fell overboard.

Beside the Sunny was a small boat. Standing in the small boat, waving her hands frantically, was a girl. She was small, about nine years old. She wore a threadbare shirt that fell to her knees, a belt to hold it in place, black pants that covered her feet, and a katana strapped to her back. It was as long as the Wado Ichimonji, but it was huge on her. Her scruffy blue hair almost covered her grey eyes.

Zoro thought he was going to have a heart attack.

"KESS!"

* * *

A sturdy vine shot from the small boat, and Kess climbed on board. Before Zoro could react, she had slam-tackled him in a hug.

"Oof!" he said. "What on earth are you doing here, Kess?" he said.

Kess gave him the big grey eyes.

Zoro smacked his forehead. "Yes, I understand you were looking for me. Does Hawk Eye know you're here?"

Kess shook her head. She didn't seem to notice the situation she was in.

"How on earth did you navigate your way through the new world?" Zoro asked.

Kess grabbed a seed out of her pocket. It was the same kind that she had given Zoro.

"So you used the seed a bit like a vivre card." Judging by Kess' look, his hunch was right on the money.

Kess was smiling from ear to ear. Until a shadow loomed over her. She turned around and ended up staring Brook right in the face. Her eyes went wide, and she hid behind Zoro.

"Yo ho ho ho!" Brook said in his usual singsong voice. "That's such a cute kid, Zoro! Hello there!" He paused, staring at her. "Would you mind if I borrowed some money?"

"What the hell are you asking?" Zoro shouted.

Kess just shuddered and hid further behind Zoro's legs.

"Brook! You're scaring her!"

Brook looked horrified. He got down on his knees, obviously trying to get to her level - even though he was still a whole lot taller than her. "I can open my skull! Look!"

This trick, which had impressed their friend Camie the mermaid, had quite a different effect on Kess. Instead of being impressed, Kess' eyes rolled back in her head and she passed out cold.

"Brook!" Zoro shouted. "Back off already!" _This is really going well..._ he thought.

* * *

The little scene Brook had caused was getting the attention of the rest of the crew. Zoro wondered how Kess was going to react to the rest of them.

"Who's that, Zoro?" Nami asked, walking up to them.

"Quite the cute kid!" Brook said. "She obviously knows Zoro."

"Really?" Franky said, "I want to see!"

"Wait a minute Franky!" Zoro shouted. No good, though. Kess opened her eyes, sat up, and immediately got an eyeful of Franky's weird opened hawaiian t-shirt, and his speedo. She made the most terrified noise she could, which was pretty impressive since it was just a sharp drawing of breath, and hid even further behind Zoro. She was trembling like mad.

"Well?" Nami asked.

Zoro turned to face her, not an easy task since he was trying to hide a terrified nine-year-old from two of the craziest looking people anyone could think of meeting, and said, "Her name is Kess. She lives on the island I stayed at for the past two years. And would you BACK OFF Franky?! She's terrified of strangers!"

Franky stepped back. "Oh!" he cried. "Don't be scared, Kiss! I'm really super, actually!"

"It's Kess." Zoro said. "And if you force anything on her she'll just get even more scared."

Luffy, who was standing behind Zoro, got down and grinned hugely at Kess. "Hey!" he said, tapping her on the shoulder. "Will you join my crew?"

Kess took one look at Luffy, and tried to dart to a new place to hide.

"Wait a minute!" Luffy shouted. He stretched out his arm, grabbed her shoulder, spun her around, and pulled her up to him.

"Luffy, that's not-" Zoro started.

Kess must have hit her ultimate high when it came to terror. Her eyes filled with tears.

"Wait!" Luffy shouted. "Don't cry! Look what I can do!" He grabbed his cheeks and stretched them out until they were about as long as Kess was tall.

Zoro facepalmed. This was going horribly wrong.

Kess darted behind Zoro again, except this time she was in between Zoro and the wall. She stared at Luffy for a moment. Slowly, pushing Zoro in front of her, she walked back to him. Timidly, she took his nose between her fingers, and stretched it back to her shoulder. Then, she let go, and it snapped back into place. Then, she gave a small smile.

Luffy held out his hand. "I'm Luffy!" he said.

Kess timidly shook his hand, then pulled her hand back. Zoro smiled.

Franky stepped up for another try. "Hey," he said, flashing her a weird grin. "I'm Franky! The super cyborg shipwright."

Kess took Zoro's hand, clutched it with a strength he'd never expected she had, and started to cry again.

"Hey, don't cry!" Franky said. "I-if you cry, I'll-" he started bawling.

"What the hell, Franky?!" Zoro shouted. At the best of times, that cyborg's crying got on his nerves.

"Here." Franky said. "Press my nose."

Kess hid again.

Zoro rolled his eyes. "C'mon, Kess. I'll show you." He stepped up, ignoring the tugging on his pant legs, and pressed Franky's nose.

Franky's hair fluffed into a huge mohawk.

Kess' eyes went wide. She pushed Zoro forward.

Zoro put his hand on her back, and swept her out in front of him. "You press his nose." he said.

Kess dug her heels into the grass, leaning against Zoro's hand. She looked absolutely terrified, but she lightly pushed Franky's nose.

Franky's hair changed into a poufy afro.

Kess gasped. She smiled, then ran and hid behind Zoro again.

_Oh, boy..._ Zoro thought.

He felt Kess get lifted off the ground. _Oh, no. Robin, you've just complicated things..._

Kess was suspended in the air, held by one of Robin's severed hands. She started to tremble.

"Hello Kess." she said calmly. "My name is Robin. It's nice to meet you." She held out her hand to Kess.

Kess stared at her hand for a moment, then took it. Robin smiled. She made another arm appear on Kess' back, and tickled her stomach.

Kess giggled. Robin smiled again, lifted her up, and placed her beside Zoro again.

Then, Usopp decided to try what Luffy had done. He got down to Kess' level, and said, "and my name is... Captain Usopp!"

Kess stared at him for a full second, then punched him square in the nose. He fell over backwards, crying, "What the hell was that for?!"

Zoro glared at her. "Why did you do that?"

She gave him a terrified look. Zoro stifled a laugh. "Hey, Usopp. Try that again, and explain that the needle on your face is your nose."

Usopp gave it another try, this time with more success.

Then Chopper and Nami stepped up and introduced themselves. That went fairly well, considering the fact that Kess accidentally called Chopper a tanuki.

That's when Sanji came dashing out of the kitchen carrying four trays of delicious looking drinks. "NAMI SWAN! ROBIN CHWAN! I made refreshing drinks with the tangerines from Sunny's tangerine grove!" He stopped short when he saw Kess. "Aww!" he said, walking up to her and smiling. "Who's the cute kid?"

Kess looked like she was about to die of fright. She ran and hid behind Zoro again, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Zoro noticed the look she was giving him. He paused for a second, then burst out laughing.

Everyone stopped and stared at him.

"What the hell's so funny, Marimo?" Sanji growled.

Zoro managed reassert control over his laughter. "Hey, Dartboard brow," he said, smirking. "Your eyebrows are scaring her! They're almost alive! Ha ha ha ha!"He couldn't help himself. It was just too funny.

"What?" Sanji said, staring at Kess in horror. "My eyebrows aren't alive, and they won't hurt you, I promise!"

Kess gave Zoro a scared look.

Zoro patted her head. "I know the cook." he said. "He's stupid, but he's not so bad... When he's not flirting with every pretty woman around."

Instead of going to shake Sanji's hand, Kess just gave him a timid wave.

"Don't expect her to like you right away just because you cleared that up, by the way. Kess has a kind of phobia of strangers." Zoro said in response to Sanji's disappointed look. "She'll warm up to you, but you need to be patient."

"Oh."

There was someone missing from all this. Of course! Kess hadn't been introduced to Jimbei yet. Zoro was a little worried about this. If Kess was scared to the point of passing out just looking at Franky and Brook, how would she react to seeing a fishman? She might have a heart attack.

Finally, Jimbei walked over and sat down.

Strangely, Kess just stared at Jimbei for a second, then waved.

Jimbei smiled and said, "Hello little one. You've grown since I saw you last."

Zoro's eyes grew wide. "You already know her?"

Jimbei nodded. "I met her once. Hawk Eye took her to a Shichibukai meeting a few years ago."

_Oh, no..._ Zoro groaned inwardly.

"WHAAAAT?!"

"Is she related to Hawk Eye Mihawk?" Luffy asked. "That's so cool!"

"Well, she's his adopted daughter..." Zoro said.

Everyone fixed him with a curious look. "You haven't said anything about where you were for the past two years..." Sanji said. "Talk."

Zoro sighed. This was not going to be fun at all.

* * *

"What?! You trained with Hawk Eye?!"

"Yeah." Zoro said flatly. Don't make me say it again."

"Begging an enemy to instruct you..." Sanji said, smirking. "That's pretty pathetic, Marimo. If I were you I'd be pretty asha-AAACK!"He didn't finish his sentence. He hit the deck, clutching at his crotch.

Kess was standing in front of Zoro, giving Sanji the stink eye.

"Did you kick him?" Zoro asked her. She nodded. "Good for you!" he said, grinning. Then, he glared down at her. "You have a lot of explaining to do, you know."

Kess smiled sheepishly.

~~~~~~ a few minutes later~~~~~

"So, let me get this straight."Zoro said, tapping his forehead. "You came to the new world with Hawk Eye for a Shichibukai meeting, and while no one was looking you stole a boat, and sailed off to find me?"

Kess nodded enthusiastically.

Zoro facepalmed. He couldn't get any kind of message to this kid. It was like talking to a teenager. In one ear, out the other.

The whole group was eating lunch on the huge picnic table out on deck.

Luffy stretched his head across the table, blocking Usopp's attempt to grab a freshly baked roll. "How can you understand her, anyway?" he asked Zoro.

"Well," Zoro said. "Kess is mute, obviously. She communicates with looks. It took me a few months to learn the trick of reading her expressions."

"THAT'S SO COOL!" Luffy exclaimed. "Hey, Kess, you should join my crew!"

"That's not gonna happen, Luffy." Zoro said.

"Why not?" Luffy whined.

"Because Hawk Eye's probably coming, and when he does, he's not going to be happy. Kess is in enough trouble as it is."

Kess turned a little pale at that comment.

Jimbei got up, and said, "Enough. This is not the time for this argument. What we should focus on is making our guest feel at home."

Luffy nodded. "Alright." "If you'll excuse me." Jimbei said.

"Sure!" Luffy said. He turned to Kess. "You want some meat?" he asked.

Kess nodded. Timidly, she took a huge piece of meat, and took a bite.

**Well, that's chapter 1! Kess will be in a lot of trouble...**

**Kess: (stares at her feet) ...**

**FM13: Oh! It's okay, Kess! **

**Zoro: Now you've done it.**

**FM13: (offers Kess a cookie) Here! **

**Kess: (grins and takes the cookie) ...**

**Zoro: Oh, boy... **

**Please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello everyone! Here's chapter 2!**

**Kess: (smiles and waves) ...**

**Zoro: She's right, you know. It took you long enough. **

**FM13: Hey! Just say the disclaimer! **

**Zoro: (rolls his eyes) Frostmoon13 doesn't own One Piece or any of it's characters. Only her OC. **

Chapter 2

Jimbei, after leaving the lunch table, walked up to the bow. He sat down, staring out at the sea. That morning had gone from calmness - well, as calm as it could get on the Thousand Sunny - to chaos. He knew that Zoro was right. Hawk Eye wouldn't be happy about his daughter navigating the new world on her own, and he would be coming after her as soon as he found out.

He had made that clear enough a few years ago.

(_flashback starts_)

It was the same old song and dance. Jimbei absolutely hated these shichibukai meetings. Most of his, what could he call them, colleagues never bothered to show up. Or if they did bother to show up, they would show up late. So far, only Boa Hancock, Bartholomew Kuma, and Donquixote Doflamingo had shown up, and none of them looked happy about it. Except maybe Kuma, who just wore that same emotionless expression.

"Alright people." Sengoku said, clapping his hands together. "Let's-"

The wooden doors swung open, and in walked Hawk Eye Mihawk. Of course he was late as always. He swept into the room, glaring at everyone, like always.

It took Jimbei a little while to notice, but he saw there was a small child clinging to Hawk Eye's leg. She was following him like a shadow, staring at the rest of them with absolute terror in her eyes.

The look Hawk Eye was giving them sent the message. 'No questions.'

"So nice of you to join us, Hawk Eye." Sengoku said sarcastically. "However you should at least make an effort to show up on time."

Hawk Eye shrugged him off, and sat down next to Jimbei. The girl hid behind his chair. She tried to hold Hawk Eye's hand, but he pulled away every time. It was rather hard to concentrate on the meeting, since the subject was the most boring thing Jimbei could think of, and everyone was more interested in the kid, who was trying - and failing miserably - to hide herself from Kuma, who sat to Mihawk's left.

When the meeting was over, and Sengoku left, everyone got up and crowded around Hawk Eye and the little kid. Doflamingo squatted down, and gave that toothy grin. "Hey, Hawk Eye." he said. "This a kid you want to sell? Kids fetch a pretty fine price."

Hawk Eye gave him his famous glare. "No. I do not believe in selling people like objects, Doflamingo." he said scornfully.

Hancock looked down at the small girl, and said, "A girl living in fear. How sickening..."

"The only thing she's scared of is you people." Hawk Eye said flatly.

Kuma didn't say anything.

_I should keep back. _Jimbei thought. _I would give this kid a heart attack. It's sad, but true. Not all young children are like Koala. _

The girl looked at him, then, pulling Hawk Eye along with her, she walked up to him and waved.

Jimbei smiled. "Hello, young one."

Hawk Eye turned and walked out the door. "Kess, come." he said.

The girl smiled at Jimbei, then dashed out after Hawk Eye.

(_flashback ends_)

Jimbei sighed. He hadn't seen Hawk Eye in two years. He figured he hadn't changed. He wondered how he would react when he saw his adopted daughter again. He already felt sorry for her.

* * *

Zoro had taken it upon himself to show Kess the ship. He showed her the kitchen, the crow's nest, the library, and the dining area with the huge fish tank. He was surprised how everything seemed new, even though he had lived on Sunny for a while. It was a whole new experience visiting things he thought were normal with someone who hadn't seen it before.

Kess didn't let go of his hand the whole tour. She stared at everything with wide eyes. When they looked at the crow's nest, which doubled as a gym, she wrinkled her nose.

"Oh, come on." Zoro said. "It's not that bad."

Kess just gave him a scornful look. Zoro knew what that meant. 'You don't seriously expect me to believe that, do you?'

Kess loved the view from the bow. However she was so short, the rail blocked her eyes. She tugged on Zoro's sleeve and gave him the sad eyes.

Zoro grinned. "Alright." he said, picking her up by the waist. "Up we go!" He lifted her up on his shoulders.

Kess clutched his head tightly and grinned from ear to ear.

Zoro heard a faint clicking noise. He turned around.

There was Luffy, Sanji, and Nami holding one of those photo-develops-instantly cameras. Luffy was grinning, like usual. Zoro wasn't too worried about him.

Nami and Sanji on the other hand were smirking like the juvenile delinquents he had seen at the Sabaody archipelago. "What?" he asked.

"That's so cute!" Sanji said smirking.

"Shut up!" Zoro growled.

Luffy jumped over. "Hey, Kess!" he said grinning at her. "Wanna go even higher?"

Kess gave him a confused look. Then, she nodded.

_I have a bad feeling about this..._ Zoro thought. _Oh, sh*t. Don't tell me._

Before Zoro could stop him, Luffy stretched his arms out, grabbed Kess by the waist, and tossed - launched - her into the air. "Enjoy the flight!" he shouted, grinning like an idiot.

Kess kept flying. Luffy must have thrown her on an angle, because she missed the ship by about ten feet and fell into the sea.

"YOU IDIOT!" Zoro, Nami, and Sanji shouted.

"Oops." Luffy said, scratching his head. "I'll go get the life preserver." He didn't even get to turn around. Zoro had grabbed his collar.

"Kess has devil fruit powers, Luffy!" he said angrily. "I'll go-" Before he could finish his sentence, Luffy's eyes bugged out. "WHAAAT?! SHE HAS DEVIL FRUIT POWERS?!" Before Zoro could stop him, Luffy jumped into the ocean.

"You moron..." Zoro groaned. He and Sanji jumped in after them.

"Why did you jump in too?" Nami snapped, smacking Luffy upside the head.

"I jusht wanded to shet thingsh right." Luffy said. It was kind of hard to talk with huge welts on his face.

Kess was clinging to Zoro, shivering with cold and fright. Zoro glared at Luffy. He looked pretty fierce.

"I'm sho shorry." Luffy said, pretty much smacking his forehead against the deck trying to bow.

"I'll have to translate for you." Zoro said. "Just don't say anything too harsh." he added so only she could hear. What Kess said surprised him. "It gave me a scare, definitely." he translated. "But other than that, that was awesome! I could see so far!- SAY WHAT?"

Kess grinned.

"So you actually enjoyed that?"

A nod. Kess reached over, grabbed Luffy's nose, and stretched it again.

Luffy looked so relieved at that. Zoro grinned. Kess might not trust the rest of the crew just yet, but they were making really good progress.

* * *

After dinner, everyone went out on the deck. There were tiny points of light dancing through the air. "Fireflies!" Nami exclaimed. "They're beautiful!"

"Not nearly as beautiful as you, Nami-swaan!" Sanji said, his eyes all heart-shaped.

Zoro rolled his eyes. "Aww, thank-you, Sanji-kun." Nami said, sarcastically.

"SHE MOVED!" Sanji shouted. His body started shaking uncontrollably, his eyes rolled back in their sockets, and he was propelled off the deck by a fountain of blood.

Kess stared at Sanji with wide eyes. She turned to look up at Zoro, and gripped his hand harder.

Zoro raised his eyebrows.

Kess gave him that confused look she did so well.

Zoro stifled a laugh. "I'll explain it to you when you're older." he said, steering her over to where Franky and Robin were catching the fireflies in jars.

* * *

Later in the evening, Zoro and Kess were sitting at the bow. Zoro was leaning back, watching the sun set. It was really late. Kess was asleep, cuddled up to him with her head resting over his heart, like usual.

"Looks like it's someone's bedtime." Nami said, coming up and sitting beside them. "She really trusts you, Zoro."

"Well," Zoro sighed. "I'm kind of her brother. That's what she calls me, anyway."

Robin came up and sat down too. "You said she's Hawk Eye Mihawk's adopted daughter. Children of that age in that situation normally have a really hard life. Having a big brother that cares as much as you do is the best thing for her."

Zoro nodded. "She's lived with Hawk Eye her whole life. It was kind of sad, though, seeing how scared of strangers she was. Hell, she still is."

Kess opened her eyes, and looked up groggily. Her eyes widened, and she tried to bury herself even further into the crook of Zoro's arm. Zoro sighed. So much for a good start. He guessed Nami had scared her when she had beaten the snot out of Luffy that afternoon.

"She should bunk with you tonight." Nami said.

"What?" Zoro said, incredulous. "I don't think so."

"She's on a strange ship full of strange people." Robin said. "Also, I think she's more scared of Nami than she is of anyone else on the ship."

Zoro stared down at Kess, who was giving him the sad eyes again. Geez, how was he supposed to resist that? He sighed. "Fine. But only for tonight."

Kess smiled at him, then fell asleep again.

**Luffy: That was fun!**

**Zoro: If you do something like that again, I will toss you into the ocean myself.**

**Kess: (tugs on Zoro's pant legs and gives him the sad eyes) ...**

**Zoro: Don't worry. He won't do it again. I'm just making sure. **

**Kess: (rolls her eyes) ...**

**Luffy: Please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello everyone!**

**Kess: (waves) ...**

**FM13: ****_What's_**** up, Kess?**

**Kess: (scratches something on her notepad) ****_Why is Usopp's nose so long? _**

**FM13: (laughs) I don't know. Let's ask him. HEY USOPP!**

**Usopp: Yeah? What's up?**

**Kess: ****_Why is your nose so long?_**

**Usopp: I can't explain it! It just is!**

**Kess: ****_Why is the sky blue? Why does the wind blow one way one day, and another the next day? Where do ba-_**

**Usopp: I DON'T KNOW!**

**Kess: (frowns and writes some more) ... ****_I'll just ask Zoro. He knows everything... Even if he can't find his way out of an empty room._**

**Usopp: (stifles a laugh) Good idea. **

**Kess: (shuts her notepad and runs off) ...**

**Usopp: Oh, this'll be so good!**

**FM13: This won't end well... For Usopp anyway...**

**Usopp: (turns white) Oh no... What do I do!?**

**FM13: You'll have my protection if you say the disclaimer! (looks at him hopefully) **

**Usopp: You've got yourself a deal! Frostmoon13 doesn't own One Piece or any of it's characters! Only her OC. (walks away)**

Chapter 3

Zoro woke up the next morning to find Sanji standing over him, smirking. "Sorry to interrupt such a cute moment, Marimo, but breakfast's ready." Zoro tried to sit up to smack him, but then he remembered. Kess was there with him, still asleep. Her expression peaceful and carefree.

Completely ignoring Sanji, he gently shook her shoulder. "Hey, Kess." he said quietly. "Wake up. It's time to start the day."

Kess yawned, stretched, and stared up at him. When she saw Sanji's eyebrows, she kicked out, and hit him square in the stomach. When Sanji regained his breath, he loomed over her. "Why, you-"

Zoro sat up, glaring at Sanji. "You scared her. Don't blame her for trying to defend herself." he said. Then, he smirked. "Or is the master of the deadly kick unable to defend himself from the kick of a nine-year-old?"

Before Sanji could respond, Zoro picked Kess up and helped her to the floor. "Let's go get some breakfast." he said.

Kess nodded.

They had stopped at an island for the day to get supplies.

Breakfast was as good as ever. Big, fluffy waffles, piles of ripe berries, scrambled eggs, and lots of meat.

Luffy was stealing other people's food, like usual. He grabbed a piece of Kess' scrambled eggs, and shoved it in his gob.

"I wouldn't-" Zoro began, but it was too late.

"Yuck!" Luffy began flailing about on the deck, his tongue flopping around. "It's so sweet!"

Zoro raised an eyebrow, feeling sorry for Luffy. "Kess puts sugar in her ketchup. I don't want to know what it tastes like, but she seems to like it. I wouldn't steal her food if I were you."

Everyone was having a blast, laughing at Luffy's flailing around, when the water erupted a few feet from the starboard bow.

"Wah!"

"Luffy!" Usopp shouted, running over to the side of the ship. "We're under attack! It's Smokeroo's unit!"

"G-5?!" Nami cried. "Franky, shoot them down!"

"You got it, girlie." Franky said, dashing into the weapons room.

A vine of smoke shot from the G-5 warship. It sailed straight for Luffy, who blocked it with his colour of arms haki.

Pretty soon, they were surrounded by marines.

"Let's go, everyone!" Luffy shouted. "Let's keep the fight away from the Sunny!"

"Right!" everyone called in reply. They dashed off the ship, first Jimbei, then Nami and Sanji, followed closely by Robin and Chopper, then Franky, Brook, Usopp, and Luffy.

Zoro turned to Kess. "Stay here and keep out of trouble." he said. When Kess gave him the sad eyes, he said, "You need to stay here where it's safe. We'll whip the marines, then come back. they shouldn't attack the Sunny."

Kess nodded, then, she pushed him forward. Zoro took one more look back, then dashed after the rest of the crew.

* * *

Kess had been left on the ship for maybe two minutes when things took a turn for the worse. A bunch of G-5 sailors had stayed behind on their warship.

"Surround the ship!" someone yelled. "Burn it from the inside out!"

Kess felt a lump rise in her throat. There were at least forty marines boarding the ship. She needed help, but she was alone. She gulped back the lump, and stood firm, ready to defend the ship. No way were they going to destroy it on her watch.

The marines stopped in their tracks. Obviously, they hadn't been expecting to see her there. "Hey there, little girl." one of them said. "These pirates are despicable. Kidnapping a child like you."

Kess took another look at the marines' faces. Most of them were ugly, all of them looked like people that her dad had always told her to avoid.

"Don't worry, kid." said another marine. "We'll get you to safety, then we'll destroy the big bad ship." He went to pick her up, but Kess jumped back, drawing her katana.

"Hey, girlie." one of them said, grinning stupidly. "You could hurt someone swinging a sword like that. You shouldn't play with weapons."

Kess felt a vein throb on her temple. These idiots were telling her she didn't know how to use a sword. They were belittling her for being a child. She would show them.

"Alright men! Burn the ship!"

That's when Kess charged. She slashed four of them at the stomach.

"Hey! What are you doing?!" the marines hollered.

Kess kept charging, slashing, ducking. These marines were completely stupid. She could get under their guard easily.

_Are you listening, Kess? Most enemies you face will be much taller than you. It's important for you to get under their guard, and attack where they would least expect it. _

That was what her dad had said. Kess had followed that advice during every fight she had ever fought. This time, however, she was vastly outnumbered. She had only taken out fifteen of them, and the other marines were almost to the mast. One of them had a lighter, and they were almost at their target!

Kess felt a tugging sensation in her gut. She focused on one of the tangerine trees. A ripe tangerine. Perfect. She focused, and the fruit grew from the size of her fist to the size of a boulder. With a wave of her hand, the gigantic tangerine rolled towards the marines. About ten of them screamed and scattered, followed closely by fruitzilla.

Unfortunately, the marines had already lit their target. Kess stared at a bunch of wrapped red sticks, with strings sticking out of them. What had her dad called it, dino mit? Whatever it was called, it was bad news. Kess knew it would explode. The string was on fire.

Kess dashed over, her katana forgotten on the deck. She grabbed the fuse in both hands. She winced in pain, but she didn't let go.

_A fire needs oxygen keep going._ her dad had said at one point. _If you smother the flame, it should go out. _

"Hey!" one of the marines shouted.

Bang!

Kess felt the bullet tear through her shoulder. She fell over sideways, letting go of the fuse.

The deed was done, however. The flame had been extinguished.

"You little brat!" a marine shouted. He raised a sword, and brought it down.

Thunk!

Kess rolled aside, grabbed her katana, and slashed the marine at the knees. The maroon's strike was a simple slice from above. Easy to dodge, even with an injury.

The only marines left were gunmen. They cocked their weapons and fired.

* * *

"You aren't getting away this time, Roronoa Zoro!" That annoying woman again. Zoro was sick and tired of having to fight her. She wasn't a match for him, but she still chased after him.

A few feet away, Luffy was fighting vice admiral Smoker. The rest of the crew were kicking some marine subordinate ass.

Zoro knocked Tashigi's sword out of her hand, hit her with Shusui's hilt, and she fell to the ground. "I've had enough for now." he said. He had to get back to the Sunny to make sure Kess was alright.

Then, he saw the smoke on the horizon. His heart almost stopped. "Luffy!" he shouted. "We have to get back to the ship! Something's wrong!"

Luffy stared at him wide eyed, then nodded. He used his colour of arms haki to send Smoker flying backward. "Everyone! Back to the ship!"

"Right!" everyone shouted. They all dashed down the hill, ignoring Smoker's threats, down to the pier.

When the Sunny came into view, Zoro gasped. There were unconscious marines everywhere. There wasn't a scratch on the ship.

Standing at the docking area was Kess. She was battered and bloody, leaning on her sword. She gave Zoro a shaky smile. He could almost hear the words.

_See, Zoro? I can protect the ship! Leave it to me! I can!_

Then, she collapsed.

Chopper caught her before she could hit the ground. "Waah! Kess! What the heck happened? DOCTOR! Oops, that's me!"

"Calm down, Chopper." Nami said. "Just hurry up and treat her."

"Right!" He picked Kess up and took her inside.

"We need to leave, NOW!" Nami shouted. "Set sail!"

Zoro turned to go to sickbay, when Nami stopped him. "Chopper's looking after Kess, don't worry." she said quietly. "I need you to raise the anchor."

Zoro frowned, then nodded. He took hold of the anchor's chain and pulled with - okay, not all his might, he didn't need to.

With that, the Thousand Sunny sailed away from the port, leaving the marine ship far behind.

* * *

Zoro put the anchor where it belonged, then walked into sickbay.

Chopper was working furiously, getting ointment, grabbing a scalpel and a needle, and drawing medicine of some sort into a syringe. "Kess is in pretty rough shape." he said, rushing past Zoro, stopping and bandaging Kess' shoulder. "She was shot a few times. I'm surprised she survived."

Zoro blinked hard. He felt terrible. He should have stayed on the Sunny with her. He could have.

He happened to glance at her hands. There were huge red and black marks on her palms, and where it wasn't black, the skin was shiny. "Those are some burns..." he said. "You have any idea how she got them, Chopper?"

Chopper shook his head. "I'm not sure. None of the marines had anything that could do burns like that." He took another roll of bandages and started wrapping Kess' side.

Zoro sat down in the chair beside the bed. He took Kess' small hand in his. "I'm sorry..." he muttered, so quietly that Chopper didn't hear him.

Kess' fingers closed around his. She opened her eyes. Judging by the look she gave him, Zoro guessed that she had heard him. She tried to sit up.

"Hey..." he said, ruffling her hair. "You're awake." Carefully taking her by the arms, he helped her sit up. "You put up a good fight, Kess. What were you thinking, fighting a large group of marines by yourself? Why didn't you whistle for help?" Kess gave him the sad eyes.

Zoro sighed. "I know you want to try to prove yourself, but imagine what Hawk Eye would think. I need to send you back to him in one piece."

"Kess, you have to lie still!" Chopper cried. "If you move too much you'll open your wounds!"

Kess looked at the multiple shot wounds in her torso. Her face turned a sickly shade of white.

Zoro recognised this look. She was going to pass out. "Hey," he said. "Look at me. You're all right. Chopper is the best doctor around."

"Zoro, keep her distracted." Chopper said. "I need to cut this bullet out of her shoulder. I might cut an artery if she moves."

Zoro nodded. "Hey, Kess." He decided to play a trick that Kuina had taught him twelve years before. "What's this?" He put his finger under her chin, then, when she looked down, he tapped her lightly on the nose.

Kess grinned, then, she winced. Chopper had obviously cut the bullet out.

"All right..." he said, ruffling her hair again. "You need to get some rest." he said quietly. "Good work today."

Kess fell back on her pillows, and instantly fell asleep. Zoro got up to leave, but he noticed that Kess was still gripping his hand.

That's when Luffy, Nami, and Brook entered the room. "Hey, how is she?" Luffy asked.

"Fine." Zoro said, smiling. "Although, Chopper can't tell how she got those odd burns on her hands."

"I think I might have the answer to that." Nami said. She held up a pack of dynamite, the fuse partially burned. "Robin found this near the mast. Kess saved the ship, Zoro. Who knew she was so tough..."

**Kess: (following Zoro around) ...**

**Zoro: I don't know where they come from, So stop asking me!**

**FM13: Uh-oh...**

**Please review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey, all you New World of Trouble readers! Sorry for the hiatus, but I barely had any internet access for two weeks! **

**Zoro: Fine by me. Gives us a rest. **

**Luffy: Back in action! YAY!**

**Kess: ...**

**Zoro: You're right, Kess. A little rest is okay now and then. **

**FM13: Okay. Perhaps you'd like to say the disclaimer?**

**Zoro: fine. frostmoon13 doesn't own One Piece or any of it's characters (thank goodness...) Only her OC. **

Chapter 4

It was another beautiful day. Zoro and Kess were napping in the afternoon sun. Luffy, Usopp, Chopper, and Brook were playing cards. "I win!" Luffy shouted. "All aces!"

"You idiot!" Usopp shouted. "In cribbage, you only got four points. Chopper got the best hand! Eleven points."

"Yay!" Chopper shouted happily. Then he turned to Nami, who was drawing a map. "Did you see that, Nami?"

Nami smiled. "Of course I did, Chopper." she said. She didn't mention the fact that Luffy actually _had _gotten the best hand. She just chuckled to herself.

Franky, who was at the helm, stared up into the sky . He paused. "Hey! There's the news Koo!"

Sure enough, the news koo was flying overhead. He swooped down and dropped the newspaper in Zoro's lap. "Wha-" Zoro muttered, stirring from his sleep. "Is it morning already?"

He took a look at the newspaper. He got up, careful not to wake Kess up, and opened the paper.

"Look," he said. "There's new wanted posters." There were three of them. "Let's see... 'Matchstick' Alvinn, ninety million berries; Mutilator Nole, seventy-four million berries..." He looked at the last one, and almost had a heart attack. He blinked a few times, rubbed his eyes, and checked again. Maybe he had been hallucinating. Yeah, that had to be it. No such luck.

"Kess!" he said sharply. "Wake up!"

Kess sat up groggily. She looked at Zoro, confused.

"What do you think this is?" he said, holding the piece of paper in front of her eyes.

The piece of paper said, '**Wanted, dead or alive. Kess: one million five hundred thousand berries. **

"Well," Jimbei said, walking up and looking over Zoro's shoulder. "That's quite an impressive bounty for a child."

"Do you have any idea what this means?" Zoro asked. He smacked his forehead at her response. "I know dead or alive means dead or alive."

Kess tilted her head.

"The point is, you've got a bounty on your head!"

Kess nodded.

Zoro frowned. "You didn't understand me, did you?"

~~~~ A few kilometres away~~~~

Hawk Eye Mihawk drifted across the oceans of the new world. He had passed Punk Hazard a few hours ago. He hadn't been to the new world in a while. He had no time to reminisce, however. He was seething. He had been woken up that morning with some very unwanted news. He stared at the wanted poster the news koo had given him. A vein in his temple throbbed. Kess had a bounty. What was she thinking? Such an idiot.

Mihawk rubbed his temples. The whole parenting thing had never come easy to him.

Shanks had told him that kids cause trouble for different reasons, but never to just cause trouble. _They just want attention, Hawk Eye!_ he had said.

What had he done wrong? Had he been too strict with Kess? Not strict enough? He must have been one hell of a failure as a parent. How did Kess manage to get a bounty in the first place?

He drifted quietly for a few more minutes when a thought occurred to him. It hadn't seemed to important before now. He had never given the kid a hug. Not once in nine years. He didn't see the point of it. Nor did he see the point in holding hands. If one of them were to fall off a cliff, then he'd see the point of it, because that would be the only thing between one person and death.

_Kids need love and attention, Hawk Eye._ Shanks had told him. _Some ask for a lot, but others are happy to just know that they're loved and have a purpose in the world. _

Mihawk sighed. He had given Kess a place to stay and trained her in the ways of the sword, but he had never really thought about whether they were a family or not. He honestly didn't know what the hell he was doing most of the time.

All he knew at that moment was, when he found her, Kess was going to be in it up to her ears. That kid always had a knack for disappearing and wandering off, but in the new world? She had gone too far this time.

His only comforting thought was, he had an idea where he should go.

"Well..." he said. "Looks like I'll be seeking out the Strawhat pirates again."

~~~~~ Back on board the Sunny ~~~~~

"Now what?" Zoro groaned. It was bad enough that Kess had a bounty on her head, but the fact that she was so proud of it was just making things worse. Luffy definitely wasn't helping at all. "If Kess has a bounty, she can join the crew, right?"

"Don't get your hopes up, Luffy." Jimbei said, voicing Zoro's opinion. "There's still Hawk Eye to reckon with."

"He'll let her join." Luffy said, swinging his legs like a little kid. "He seems like a good guy."

_I wouldn't count on that..._ Zoro thought. He had seen Hawk Eye's expression when he had told him about Kess being abducted by the king humandrill a year before. His hopes weren't too high.

Kess stared out at the water. There was a faraway look in her eyes.

Zoro knew what she was thinking. She might be proud of the bounty on her head, but she also had to face Hawk Eye when he caught up to them. And she was scared.

Nami walked up to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "It's alright, Kess." she said. "I'm sure Hawk Eye won't be too mad. I bet he'll be proud of you, getting such a high bounty. It means you're strong."

Kess gave Nami a look that Zoro understood immediately. _You've never seen him angry, and I hope you never will._

"I'll play a tune to liven up the mood!" Brook said, grabbing his violin. He began playing a lively tune that Zoro recognised. It was Bink's Brew.

Kess closed her eyes, and smiled. When she opened her eyes again, her face went pale.

Zoro walked up to the side of the ship to stand beside her.

Beside the ship was a small boat that looked like a coffin. Sitting in the boat was a tall man, wearing a black sleeveless coat, white pants, and a large, black hat with a light purple plume. It was Hawk Eye Mihawk.

_Uh-oh... _Zoro thought. _The sh*t's about to hit the fan..._

* * *

"Well...?" Mihawk said. He glared down at Kess, who stared at her feet. "You are in _very_ big trouble, Kess."

He had often heard that parents use their child's middle name or their full name when they were really irritated. He, however, didn't have such a luxury. Kess only had one name. He had explained to Shanks seven years before, that he found it inappropriate to give Kess his surname, because he wasn't really her father. Now he wondered if that was the right choice. He couldn't afford to second-guess himself now. Not when he was going to give her the lecture of her life.

The Strawhat crew was standing a few feet off, pretty meek and quiet. Except maybe Zoro, who had seen him get angry before.

"Do you understand the severity of your situation?"

Kess nodded.

_Right. I didn't think so..._ he thought.

"Why must you always wander off and cause trouble?" he growled. "You've finally bitten off more than you can chew, and this time, I can't help you."

The dark haired woman, Nico Robin he thought, stepped up and said, "Hawk Eye cannot help because you being a wanted criminal will affect his status as warlord. His title might be revoked."

Kess' eyes widened.

Mihawk groaned. "No, my status has not been revoked. You, however, have a very tough time ahead of you."

"Hey!" Monkey D. Luffy shouted. "Kess can join my crew! Everything will be fine! We'll look after her!"

Mihawk sighed. If he let her go with them, she would be protected, but she would be hunted constantly.

What would a good parent do? He couldn't take Kess back. It would cause an even bigger mess. He bit back a groan of annoyance. "Alright..." he said tonelessly. "Fine."

Kess' eyes lit up.

"Alright!" Luffy shouted. "Hey, Kess! Did you hear that? You can join the crew!"

Mihawk looked at Zoro.

"I already know what you're going to say." Zoro said. "And don't worry. There is no way I'll let her get herself killed."

Mihawk nodded. "Then I have no more reason to stay."

He turned to leave, but Kess stopped him. She gave him a confident look.

"I know you'll show them." he said. He got down to Kess' level. "You are worthy of the name Dracule. Take care of yourself."

Kess stepped up and gave him a hug.

Mihawk wasn't sure what to do.

Kess started to pull back, but he hugged her back. "Be safe, all right? Keep me posted." he whispered.

There was a short pause. Kess' shoulders started to shake.

Mihawk mentally kicked himself. She was crying. What had he done wrong this time?

Then, he realised she wasn't crying because she was scared. He had never done anything like this before. She was probably just as confused when it came to this as he was.

The Strawhats stood back a few paces.

Mihawk thanked his lucky stars that no one else said anything.

**There you have it! Now that Kess is a member of the crew, break out the drinks!**

**Zoro: I think that's Luffy's line...**

**FM13: oops. **

**Luffy: If you approve, review! If you don't... Review anyway! Frosty likes the input!**

**FM13: Not that again... That isn't even from this story! You can't use it!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey, everyone! Here's the next chapter! **

**The next few chapters will be rather dramatic. Just a warning. **

**Kess: (cocks her head) ...**

**FM13: You'll see. **

**Kess: (scratches something on her notepad) frostmoon13 doesn't own One Piece or any of it's characters. Only her OC. **

Chapter 5

After Hawk Eye left, Luffy ordered a celebration. Everyone drank and ate, and Brook played a variety of soul songs, and Bink's Brew of course. Luffy, Nami, Usopp, Chopper, and Franky started singing along.

Zoro was sitting next to Kess, who was listening to Brook's music. When they finished the final Yo-ho-ho-hos, Kess' shoulders sagged. "Hey." Zoro said, tapping her shoulder. "What's wrong? This party is to celebrate your joining the crew." Kess gave him the sad eyes.

Zoro gave her a sympathetic look. "You wish you could sing too?"

Kess nodded, then cast a sad glance at the Luffy and the others.

Zoro grinned. "Easily fixed." he said. "Hey! Brook! C'mere."

Brook wafted over, still playing his guitar. "What can I do for you?" he asked. "I'm all ears... Even though I don't have ears! Yo ho ho ho!"

"Very funny Brook." Zoro said, rolling his eyes. "Listen, I have a request. Teach Kess how to play a musical instrument."

Brook grinned, obviously elated at the request. "Of course!" he said. He picked Kess up by the armpits, and placed her on the ground. "What would you like to learn?" Zoro grinned when he read Kess' expression. "She said she wants to learn to play Bink's Brew."

* * *

Zoro, Jimbei, Robin, and Sanji watched as Brook showed Kess how to play chords, identify flat and sharp keys, and operate the three pedals, although it took three little wood blocks for her to reach them. Brook had decided that the piano would be the best choice. Kess looked really happy when she managed to play the opening to Bink's Brew without pausing or hitting a wrong note. At 9:00, Kess had learned half of the first verse, which is a good part of the song.

"Yo ho ho ho! You're a quick learner Kess!" Brook said in his singsong voice.

"Not bad, Kess." Zoro said. "You're almost as good on the piano as you are with the sword."

Kess blushed to the roots of her hair. Then, she yawned hugely.

"Time for bed." Zoro said, getting up.

Kess gave him a pleading look.

"No." he said. "It's past 9:00. You need to get some sleep. You can play more piano tomorrow."

Kess sighed, got up off the piano stool, then stumbled. Zoro caught her. "See?" he said. "You're staying up too late. Robin, could you take her to the girls' room?"

Robin raised an eyebrow. "She's not going to sleep with you, Zoro?"

Zoro frowned. "I said it was just for last night. Kess is a part of the crew now, so she's going to have to get used to you and Nami anyway."

Kess yawned again, then gave Zoro a hug.

Zoro patted her head. "Good night. See you in the morning."

* * *

Zoro woke up in the middle of the night. Someone was poking his shoulder. It was Kess.

"What's up, Kess?" he asked groggily, turning over so he could see her a little better. "You have a nightmare?"

Kess shook her head.

Zoro frowned. "Are you hungry?"

Again she shook her head.

"Thirsty, maybe?"

Again, no.

"Then why the hell-" He stopped. He realised Kess was crying. Then he understood. "Are you homesick?" he asked.

Kess nodded, then sniffed and wiped her eyes with her sleeve.

Zoro sighed. He sat up and swung his legs over the side of his hammock. "Alright... C'mon."

He led Kess out of the boys' room, out onto the crow's nest. Once they got to the weight area, he tossed her a five-pound dumbbell. "Here." he said. "Lifting weights is a good way to get your mind off things."

Kess stared at the weights for almost a full minute, then she took it, and cocked her head, as if to say, _What am I supposed to do? _

Zoro showed her how to do bicep curls. He figured that was easy enough for her, and it wouldn't give Nami a reason to shout at him in the morning.

Kess gave him another questioning look. Zoro sighed. "Until your mind's off whatever's bothering you." He sat down, propped up against the wall, and watched as Kess started lifting the weight. He watched for a few minutes, then fell asleep.

When he woke up, Kess was propped up against his shoulder. She was fast asleep, but she still had the small weight in her hand.

_She must have been up all night..._ he thought. He gently ruffled her hair. Sighing,he sat back. Sometimes Kess looked so young, he found it hard to believe that she was really as good as she was. He had promised Hawk Eye that he wouldn't let anything happen to her. But he didn't need to. He would protect her, and help her get stronger, no matter what.

* * *

It was a beautiful summer's day. Nami had said they needed to do some shopping, so they stopped at an island called Fairweather. Kess could see why it was called that. The plants were growing as if it was the last day of summer in the next eternity, and they were going to make up for it in one day.

Kess followed Zoro through the crowded streets. Nami had sent them to buy some drinking water, some sake, and some other things. So far, they had only gotten the booze.

Kess clung to Zoro's hand, happily running along behind him. They stopped at the grocery store. Zoro motioned to a bench outside the store. "Wait here, okay?" he said. "I'll be about ten minutes."

She grinned and waved. _See you in a few hours, then!_

Zoro glared at her. "Ha ha ha." he said sarcastically. "Very funny. Just stay out of trouble."

She nodded earnestly. After sitting there for about four minutes, Kess fell asleep.

She woke up about half an hour later. Zoro still wasn't back yet, which didn't really surprise her. Yawning and stretching, she got up and strolled off. She figured she'd walk for about an hour, then go back to the grocery store. That should give Zoro enough time to find his way out of the frozen food section, she figured.

Kess walked down the streets at a leisurely pace. She stared at shop signs and passing people. She passed a small group of people, who were arguing and laughing loudly. Kess was going to keep walking, but she did a double take.

The man in the centre of the group was one of the scariest looking people she'd ever seen. His face was horribly scarred, and one of his arms was completely metal. His unruly orange hair was held back by a pair of leather strap goggles. Kess couldn't help staring at him.

The scary guy looked up and smirked when he saw her. "Well..." he said. "A child wandering the streets all alone with pirates around? How naive." He picked himself up off the barrel he was sitting on, and loomed over Kess like a shadow. "You lost, brat?" he growled.

Kess stared at him like a deer caught in headlights. This guy was completely terrifying. It didn't help that she couldn't The man beside him, the one with the mask and a fuzzy beard, said, "What would you have me do, Kid?"

Kid just looked at her for a moment, then said, "Leave her be. Children are beneath our notice. Only the tenryuubito would go that low." He turned his back on her. "You'd better get out of here, kid. Find your parents and go home."

Kess glared at the man who called himself Kid for patronizing her. She didn't want to cause a scene, though. Her dad had always taught her to guage her opponent's strength before she drew her guy was no one she wanted to tangle with. Besides, she didn't like the look of the rest of them. She just nodded at them, turned on her heels, and ran off as fast as she dared.

* * *

She continued on her way, occasionally looking back at the scary man, even though he had disappeared in the crowd. She couldn't help but feel she'd seen him before somewhere.

Kess decided to stop at a neighborhood cafe.

Nami had given her some spending money when she had left with Zoro. "This is your spending money for now." she had said.

Kess pointed to a cinnamon roll and a bottle of soda when the lady behind the counter asked her what she'd like, payed the three hundred and fifty berries she owed, then continued on her way.

She strolled down the street, munching on her cinnamon bun. When she finished, she licked her fingers clean, took another swig of her soda, and smacked into something, or somebody, spilling the rest of her drink all over her clothes. She winced, and looked up. She almost had a heart attack. She had walked into a polar bear in an orange one piece worksuit.

"Hmmm?" the bear said, looking down at her. "Oh! A little kid ran into me!"

Kess flinched, but the bear bowed down almost to the ground. "I'm so sorry!" he said. "I didn't see you there! Are you hurt anywhere?"

_He's so meek!_ Kess thought. The bear helped her up, and, still apologising, and bought her another soda.

"Hey! Bepo! There you are!" someone said. It was a man in his mid twenties in the same kind of worksuit. His hat said PENGUIN. "C'mon! The captain's waiting for you!"

"Sorry..." the bear muttered. "I was just helping this kid. I kinda ran into her."

"Are you serious?" PENGUIN said. "C'mon, we need to get going." They turned around to run away. The bear apologised again, before running off.

_Wow..._ Kess thought. _You sure meet some interesting people going for a stroll. _

That's when Kess felt a large hand drop on her head.

_Uh-oh... _she thought.

She whipped around to see a very irritated Zoro. He was even scarier than that Kid guy, if that was at all possible. The look in his eyes was beyond annoyed. It was a You-are-_**so**__-_dead look.

"What the hell did I tell you?" he growled.

Kess stared at her feet sheepishly.

"I told you not to wander off, Kess." Zoro growled again, grabbing her shoulders and forcing her to stare into her eyes.

Kess couldn't stare at her feet because of what Zoro was doing, but she didn't meet his gaze.

She hadn't expected him to find his way out of the store so fast.

Zoro let go of her and stood up in a huff. "You don't listen, do you?" he said in an almost weary voice. "I can see why Hawk Eye is irritable most of the time..."

Kess hung her head. Then, she looked up at Zoro and gave him the sad eyes.

Zoro grunted. "Fine... Just don't do it again... You really gave me a scare. You don't know who's out there..." He patted her head, then took her hand.

When Zoro wasn't looking, Kess smirked. That was another thing she liked about Zoro. He could never stay mad at her for long, and by long she meant about ten minutes.

* * *

As they were walking down the street, Kess noticed that people all around were getting down on their knees and bowing. She looked up at Zoro. _Why are they kneeling?_

Zoro frowned, but didn't meet her gaze. "Just keep walking, Kess." he said under his breath. "Don't look them in the eye..."

Kess looked up and saw a man in weird white clothes, and a fishbowl on his head. He had a large nose like a squashed tomato and a very wide, toad-like mouth. Walking in front of him were five armed guards.

One of the guards walked up to them. "Hey!" he said. "How dare you stand in the presence of Saint Julio?!" _Saint?_ Kess thought. _The fish bowl head?_

The fishbowl head walked up to them, followed by a large crowd of people with metal collars on their necks. These collared people made Kess' heart ache. They looked like they were in so much pain.

Zoro stopped. "We're not going to put up with your crap." he snapped.

Saint Julio bent down and stared at Kess. _Don't look them in the eye... _Zoro had said. Kess didn't meet the guy's gaze. Then, he said something that terrified her. "Take this kid to the ship."

Before Kess could react, Zoro had stepped in front of her, sword drawn. "What did you say, you fishbowl bastard?" Kess clutched Zoro's pant leg.

Then, Kess heard a banging sound. Zoro collapsed in front of her. A large patch of blood was growing on his shoulder like a flower under her devil fruit power's influence. Kess fell to her knees beside him. She thought her throat would close with fear.

She wanted to scream. _ZORO! ZORO! BROTHER, GET UP!_

"D-damn it..." Zoro coughed. "Let my guard down..."

"Yay!" Fishbowl head shouted, jumping up and down. "Instead of just one, I netted two slaves! This is my lucky day!"

Kess trembled with fear. She had never seen anyone get shot before. Sure, she had been on the receiving end of a gunshot, but that was nothing compared to seeing someone else getting shot.

The guards stepped up. One of them grabbed her by the waist. Before he could hoist her into the air, the grass around him exploded, growing long as flagpoles and thick as wood planks. Kess leant over Zoro. The grass made a kind of protective circle around them.

Kess focused on keeping everyone out of the circle. She made the grass lash around like large, green, bladed whips. She had to protect Zoro.

Then, she felt something hit her in the shoulder. She gasped in pain and surprise. All her strength left her. It was like being in the ocean.

The grass shrank to it's regular size, and Kess fell over, unable to move.

Fishbowl head stepped up, and said to one of his guards, "Take this brat to the pier. And make sure she doesn't cause any more trouble!" The guard nodded, then picked Kess up by the waist and hoisted her over his shoulder.

Kess tried to struggle, but she still couldn't move. Whatever had hit her in the shoulder, it was worse than the ocean. What happened next terrified her.

The fishbowl head knelt next to Zoro, and took out a long, pale knife. "I don't need a slave like you. Die." What happened next was so horrible, Kess could barely remember what fishbowl head had actually done.

Kess' eyes grew wide. _ZORO!_

She choked back tears. She clawed at the guard, but it didn't do any good. All she could do was shut her eyes, and try to keep the horrifying scene out of her mind. She didn't notice the shadow that left the sky, nor would she have cared. The whole world had turned dark and cold.

**This chapter is the beginning of a new struggle against the celestial dragons. **

**I tell you, just writing this part really tugged at my heartstrings. **

**Anyway, please review.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey, I decided to post this sooner than later to clear up any... misunderstandings as to what happened during the last chapter. **

**Well, you know the drill. I don't own One Piece. **

**Let's begin!**

Chapter 8

After the celestial dragon and his followers left, the crowd dissipated.

_Damn it... What the hell happened...? _

A tall man in a long, dark coat stepped up, and picked up Zoro's severed head. "Hey." he said. "I know you get lost easily, but you never struck me as a guy who would lose his head."

Zoro felt a vein in his temple throb. "You're the one who lopped it off, asshole!" he shouted. Zoro glared at the man. "Shut up and put my head back on! What the hell are you doing here, anyways?"

Trafalgar Law chuckled good-naturedly. "I expected a nicer greeting from you. After all, I did just save your neck."

Zoro frowned. "Right. Where's Kess?"

Now it was Law's turn to frown. "Kess? Who's that? The newest addition to your crew?"

Zoro grew shark teeth. "She was just caught by a celestial dragon, dammit!"

A look of horror crossed Law's face. He sighed. "Well, they're gone now. I'll take you back to your ship. My crew can wait a little longer."

"Just put my head back on, damn it!" Zoro shouted.

Law smirked. He tossed Zoro's head up and down for a while. "I don't think you're in any position to be talking like that."

Zoro shut his mouth. He was getting really dizzy.

Law stopped after a while, then put his head back on his neck. Zoro rubbed his neck. "Damn it..." he muttered. "They took her." Then, without thinking, Zoro slashed a lamp post in two.

* * *

"Whaat?!" Luffy screamed. "They took Kess?!"

Zoro nodded. He felt absolutely horrible. He had promised he'd protect her, but so far he was failing miserably. Jimbei had told him the horror stories of what the celestial dragons did to their captives.

"Damn it, Marimo." Sanji said. "You should've died rather than let them take a young lady like that!"

Law, who had been quietly watching this dialogue, stepped up. "I think that might have been my fault." he said. "I didn't notice the child. If I had, I would've done something."

Luffy looked at Law curiously. Law had been their ally during the battle of Punk Hazard, and it was no secret to anyone that Luffy still trusted him.

Zoro was gripping the Wado Ichimonji so hard he thought his hands would bleed. He was completely ignoring everyone around him. He had let this happen. If Kess was captured by a celestial dragon, then she would probably be forced into one of those collars. He didn't want to think about that.

He snapped out of his daze when Luffy clapped him on the shoulder. "Set sail!" he shouted.

"Where?" Nami asked.

Luffy frowned. "Isn't it obvious? We're going to Mariejoa!"

* * *

The ride to Mariejoa was a big blur to Kess. What she did remember didn't make a whole lot of sense. She was in some kind of medical area, but instead of tending to her wounds, two people in white coats and face masks had cut a fair sized gash in her arm. It made her feel sick looking at it. Before she could look away, she saw them insert a small, blue stone into her arm. It was the same feeling she had when that weird weapon had hit her. It was like being in the ocean.

_Sea prism stone..._ Her dad's words echoed through her mind. _Temporarily takes away the powers of a devil fruit user. As long as you're in contact with it, you will be extremely weak and your powers will be useless. _

_Dammit!_ She thought. _If I'd only been a little bit stronger, I might've been able to prevent this whole thing from happening..._

That was the last thing she thought before she slipped into unconsciousness.

When she woke up, she couldn't help but gawk at what she saw. If you laid aside the people running errands who were obviously slaves, Mariejoa was one of the most beautiful cities Kess had ever seen.

A guard came up and roughly pushed her forward. "Move." he said.

Kess, instead of moving, turned around and gave him the evil eye.

The guard smacked her hard across the face with his staff. Kess flew down the gangplank and landed in a sore and bleeding heap on the dock.

The fishbowl head walked up to her, hoisted her onto her feet, and pointed a gun at her nose. "Now, listen here, girl..." he said. "You cause any more trouble and I'll kill you... You got me?"

Kess stared inside the gun barrel. She nodded slowly.

Fishbowl head stood up, looking satisfied. "Well then..." he said. Then he kicked her hard in the stomach. "MOVE!"

Kess stumbled along, half blinded by the pain in her gut. She was pushed up seven flights of stone steps, along the roads, right into the centre of town.

They entered a large building. It was larger than the castle at Muggy kingdom. The entry hall was brightly lit with natural light, distorted by the stained glass dome above. There was an indoor garden with flowers Kess had only ever seen in books. The entire place was built of white marble, and when the sun shone in, it stung Kess' eyes.

Fishbowl head pushed Kess forward towards a group of guards that had come down from the grand staircase. "Fit her with a collar and send her to work in the entertainment room." he ordered.

"Yes, Saint Julio." the lead guard said. He took kess' arm and pulled her up the stairs, which was murder, considering how weak she felt because of the sea prism stone in her arm.

When they got upstairs, a group of servants brought a metal collar. Kess tried to struggle as they put it on, but it wasn't any use. The collar was the worst thing yet. It was at least a size too big for her, it was heavy, and the ticking noise coming from it made Kess feel nervous.

The guards tossed her into a large, brightly lit room. On one end was a stage, with at least a thousand seats. On the other was a large bay window with another indoor garden. "You will work on the garden." the guard said. "You are on camera, and if you try anything funny, you will regret it!"

After smacking Kess over the head with his spear one last time, he turned away, laughing.

Kess sniffed. This was horrible. How could these people be so cruel to anyone? Her dad had been right. The world government was rotten to the core. Pirates were outlawed, but the world nobles could capture, buy, and sell slaves. She picked up a handful of dirt. It sifted through her fingers like grains of sand. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hands. She couldn't cry. It was silly... and weak.

"So, another weak human for the collection... And a child to boot."

The voice startled Kess. She hadn't even noticed there was someone else there with her.

Standing behind her was a brown skinned fishman. He was about fifteen, with huge muscles and gills over his neck. His black hair was scruffy and hung in his eyes. His clothes were in tatters, and he had a strange tattoo like thing on his chest, over his heart. He wore a slave's collar. He was carrying a whole rack of chairs. He was glaring at her like she was pond scum.

"How pathetic." he said. "You probably just got picked up somewhere and brought here. I wonder why? It's not like they need a new human slave... Whatever."

A guard came up and smacked him over the head. "Keep working, Fish!" he said. "You can help her in the garden after you finish that load!"

After the fishman finished his load, he was pushed into the dirt beside Kess.

Kess looked at him. She cocked her head.

"What?" he asked. "If you want to know something, just ask me. Are you retarded or something? I wouldn't expect anything less from a human."

Kess shook her head. She traced her finger through the dirt. _Are you okay?_

The fishman stared at her for a second. Then, he scowled. "If I wasn't fine, I'd be dead." He paused for a second. "Why would you care?"

Kess traced her finger through the dirt again. _Is it wrong to worry about you? _

The fishman sighed. "You haven't been a slave for too long, have you, kid?"

Kess shook her head. She traced, _I'm Kess. What's your name?_

The fishman gave her an odd look, then he said, "My name is Mako. I know, kind of stupid for a mako shark fishman to be named Mako, but I had weird parents."

Kess grinned and held out her hand. Before she could react, Mako slapped it away. "You're crazy, Kess." he said. "Don't stop working... Then they won't have a reason to punish you."

Kess gulped, then continued to work. Her eyes stung. She scraped a patch of moss off one of the rocks. She watched it fall, and land upside down, it's severed brown roots sticking up.

_Zoro..._ She thought. She sniffed and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

She stopped when someone put their huge hands under her armpits and lifted her onto her feet. "Come with me!" someone ordered.

* * *

"Here it is!" Luffy shouted from Sunny's masthead. "The entrance to Mariejoa!"

There it was, the red line. They had had to backtrack to get there, and it had taken them a long time. Zoro stood at the bow, his hands clutching the rail. "We're coming... Kess." he muttered.

Sanji, who was also standing at the bow, staring into the fog, shouted, "We've got company!"

A deafening explosion shook the water just off Sunny's port side.

"Oh! It's the marines!" Luffy shouted, grinning. "I guess Mariejoa would be pretty heavily guarded. This'll be fun!"

"You're too careless, Mugiwara-ya." Law said, glaring at him. "Jimbei! Can't you do something about that ship?!"

Jimbei nodded. "Leave it to me." He jumped over the side of the ship. It took about three seconds for him to completely destroy the marine ship. With a small splash, Jimbei hurled himself back on board. "That deals with that one!" he shouted. "Don't forget, this part of the red line also has a small stream that we have to cross to get to Mariejoa! If we miss it, we'll be smashed to smithereens!"

Zoro almost snapped at that. "Hey, Ero-cook!" he shouted. "Can you see it yet?"

"Don't tell me what to do, you stupid marimo!" Sanji barked. "Wait... I see it! Two o'clock!"

Frankey spun the wheel a bit, then the Sunny was caught in the current. They picked up so much speed, Luffy fell off the masthead.

"All right!" he shouted, pumping his fist into the air. "HANG ON, KESS! WE'LL RESCUE YOU!"

* * *

She couldn't see anything. All Kess could remember was blinding pain. It was so dark... Maybe it would just be better to shut her eyes and never wake up again... At least she would be able to see Zoro again.

"Hey, Kess!"

_Just a few more minutes..._

"Kess!"

It couldn't hurt to just ignore it...

"Damnit, human brat! Wake up!"

Before she could react, Kess was hauled off the ground like a sack of potatoes, and placed on her feet. "Come on, Kess, you need to wake up! If they catch you sleeping-"

Kess opened her eyes. Mako's sea green eyes peered back at her.

"Come on..." he said. "We need to get going..."

Kess took a step, and winced at the pain.

Mako looked at her sympathetically. "It'll hurt for a few days, kid."

* * *

The morning wasn't so bad, or not bad in comparison to the afternoon. Kess was helping Mako move seats into the concert hall that afternoon. Kess could only carry one at a time, but Mako had fifteen or sixteen to each arm.

Suddenly, Kess heard an ear splitting scream. She turned to see a young woman with a collar on her neck. Another slave, obviously. She was crying to the celestial dragon from before, screaming something about not being able to stand it anymore.

"Oh, you can't stand it, eh?" he said. "You subhumans should know your place! I can't do anything with weak slaves!" He pulled out his pistol. Point blank. He shot her through the heart. The last thing the woman said was a deafening scream.

Kess stared at the woman's body in horror. The world started spinning. A very old image crossed her mind, like she was looking at it through a telescope. Smoke. Fire. Dark silhouettes of men with swords and spears. A deafening scream, battle cries, and the feeling of falling, something warm and wet dripping on her nose...

Kess turned away to keep from passing out.

"See?" Mako muttered. "If a slave cries or stops working, that's what happens..."

Kess blinked tears.

Mako put his hand on her shoulder. "Come on," he said. "We have more work to do."

Kess turned to follow Mako, when one of the guards walked up to them, accompanied by fishbowl head.

Fishbowl head looked really angry, and he still held his pistol in his hand. He glared at her. "You!" he said. "Come with me!"

Kess shot Mako a frightened look.

He gently pushed her forward. "It won't be as painful as last time..." he muttered in her ear.

**Kess: (scratches something on her notepad) ****_No one's here... Oh well. Please review! XD_**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey, all!**

**Mako: Yeah, yeah...**

**Kess: (rolls her eyes) ...**

**FM13: Oh! Mako, say the disclaimer. **

**Mako: No. **

**FM13: Do it. Now. **

**Mako: fine. frostmoon13 doesn't own One Piece, or any of it's characters. Only her OCs. **

Chapter 10

The Thousand Sunny was flung into the air over Mariejoa like it had been shot from a cannon.

_That was one hell of a current..._ Zoro thought. He looked down at the huge, bustling city below them. People in the streets, both civilians and marines, stared at the Sunny in shock.

"Hang onto something!" Jimbei shouted as the Sunny began to drop.

Luffy clung to the masthead, laughing like a maniac; Sanji and Zoro both had a death grip on the rail; Franky grabbed the mast, while Chopper grabbed onto his ankle; Usopp was grabbing one of Robin's hands, while Robin, still sitting in her deck chair, used her devil fruit power to hold herself down; Nami clutched Brook's hand to keep him from flying away, although she nearly let go of him when Brook asked if she would wear a miniskirt for him. Jimbei and Law both grabbed onto the sakura tree, which had grown larger than Nami's tangerine trees already.

They hit the water with an almighty splash! Everyone got sprayed with seawater.

"We're still alive..." Nami said, panting.

Zoro stood up, shook the seawater out of his hair, and rubbed it out of his eyes. He paused, looking out at the docks.

There were about fifty thousand marines standing at the dock. They hadn't been spared either. All of them were soaked. Finally, a marine in an officer's coat shouted, "Get them! It's the strawhat pirates!"

Luffy jumped up, grinned, and said, "Alright! We're here!" He jumped off the masthead and started knocking marines out of his way like straws and feathers.

Zoro jumped over the side and followed his captain. Finally... No more sitting around. They would find Kess and get the hell out of this awful place.

"LOOK OUT! HERE WE COME!"

* * *

The guard half led, half dragged Kess down a large corridor. Kess squirmed around in discomfort. The guard had an iron grip on her arm. It didn't help that she was still weak from the sea prism stone, either.

When the guard finally stopped walking and pushed her forward onto the stone floor, she looked up. She was in a small - well, small in comparison to the rest of the place -room, with nothing in it but a piano and a piano stool.

The fishbowl head stood over her, pointed his pistol at her, and said, "You will play."

Just play the piano? That didn't seem so bad, although Kess was sure there was going to be a painful ending to all this.

Kess pulled herself off the ground and clambered onto the stool. She swung her legs for a moment, her toes barely scuffing the smooth marble floor. "Play something!" Fishbowl head ordered.

Kess frowned. There was only one tune she knew how to play. She supposed it was better than nothing, though. She took a deep breath, and began to play Bink's Brew.

The fishbowl head closed his eyes, listening to the music. "This is a nice tune..." he said quietly.

As she played, Kess ran through the lyrics of the song in her mind.

_Binkusu no sake o, todoke ni yuku yo..._

She played for a few minutes, she was almost halfway through.

_Asu no asahi ga nai ja nashi..._

Kess sniffed. Her vision was blurred with tears. God, she missed the crew... her friends. She missed her dad and her home on Gloom island. More than anyone, she missed Zoro. She couldn't do anything when they had that run-in with the celestial dragon... It was her fault he'd gotten shot... It was her fault he was dead.

Her fingers slammed into the keys, making a horrible janging sound.

"What is this?!" the fishbowl head roared. "Keep playing!"

Kess sniffed. Mako had warned her not to cry... She had to stop!

"I have no use for a weak slave!" he shouted.

One of the guards stepped up to him, trying to get him to stop. "Saint Julio..." he said. "You've already dispatched one slave today, if you kill another, your father will be extremely upset!"

"I don't care!" fishbowl head roared. "DIE!"

It all happened in slow motion. Kess heard "DIE!" and was immediately on edge. She heard the bang of the pistol, the whistle of the bullet as it rushed towards her head. Kess moved her head slightly to the right, hoping against hope, that it would work. The piano wood next to her ear splintered on contact with the bullet. Then, time snapped into focus again.

"How?!" Fishbowl head shouted. "I aimed straight for her! There's no way she could have seen that coming!"

Kess rubbed her eyes. Had she really seen it coming? She wasn't even looking. She kind of just... sensed it coming. She shuddered.

"Stand still!" Fishbowl head shouted. He fired his pistol again and again. Kess noticed every one of them coming towards her in slow motion. She ducked and dodged. Wood splintered everywhere. Then she got an idea. If she could dodge them that easily, she could probably...

There was one headed straight for her arm. Kess ducked just a little bit. The bullet grazed her arm, cutting into the flesh, scraping against bone. She winced in pain, but also felt strength surge through her body. Yes! She'd timed it perfectly. She just had to bide her time now...

* * *

"Hey, Zoro!" Luffy called.

Zoro turned around, and saw that Luffy had a marine up against a wall. "What are you doing, Luffy?"

"I'm trying to figure out where they took Kess! What's the name of that noble guy?"

Zoro thought for a second... What was the guy's name? Had he even said it?

He took another look around. Nami and Robin had trapped a dozen marines, trying to get info out of them. "Just tell us!" Nami shouted.

Law stepped up. "You're wasting time." he said. "I remember the name. It's Saint Julio."

"Where's saint Julius?" Luffy shouted.

"I'll handle it." Zoro said. He put on his demon act face. "I'm only going to ask you once." he said menacingly, pointing Kitetsu III at the man's throat. "Where does saint Julio live?"

The marine looked so terrified, he was about to pass out. "Th-third house on the left of the street. Large white marble building..." he started frothing at the mouth and passed out.

"Let's go!" Luffy shouted.

They all dashed off to the third house - mansion - on the left.

* * *

Kess was in a tight fix. She might have gotten that sea prism stone out of her arm, but now she was tired, and it didn't look like the celestial dragon was out of bullets just yet. He had ditched his flintlock pistol, and was now using a weird pistol with a rotating chamber.

Kess ducked under another bullet, then she stepped on something. Pain shot through her foot. She stumbled and fell.

The fishbowl head grinned with glee, and pointed his pistol at her.

Kess shut her eyes.

**BOOM!**

Kess opened an eye. Blood dripped onto her nose. She looked up, horror coming to a crescendo, making her heart race triple time.

Mako was standing over her, his arms outstretched. "D-damn it, kid..." he muttered. "I told you not to cry..." He collapsed.

Kess wanted to scream. Why did he do that?! Why did he shield her like that?

She stared up at the gun barrel now pointing at her nose, point blank.

Suddenly, there was a smashing sound, and the fishbowl head flew back against the marble wall, a huge fist impression in his face.

* * *

"Luffy! Wait!" Zoro shouted, dashing through the door. He crashed right into his rubbery captain. "Damn it... Why did you stop at the door?" He stopped when he saw the celestial dragon out cold on the ground. "Luffy... You knocked him out. I missed my chance to slash him... again."

Zoro took another look around. They were in a room with nothing much but a grand piano, full of bullet holes. Lying on the ground was an injured fishman, and kneeling beside him was Kess.

She looked pretty bad. There was an iron collar on her neck, a shot wound in her arm, and her face was streaked with tears and dirt. She looked frantic.

Zoro stepped up and expertly slashed the collar off her neck. He did the same for the fishman, just because he looked like he was having a bad enough day.

Kess looked up. When she saw him, she blinked, rubbed her eyes a few times, and poked at his boot, as if to check to see if he was really there. Her eyes filled with tears, and she slam-tackled him in a hug, burying her face in his shoulder.

"It's okay..." Zoro muttered, running his hand through her hair. "Everything will be just fine. We're here now..."

Kess continued to sob freely. She was gripping his coat like it was the last thing between her and instant death. She pulled back a bit, just so she could fix him with a very teary look.

"You thought I was _what_?" he said in disbelief.

Kess nodded.

"I am going to _kill_ that asshole." Zoro growled.

Kess raised an eyebrow.

"You'll meet him later."

There was a crash as the rest of the crew burst in. "Geez..." he heard Franky say. "This place is trashed."

"Did you guys find Kess?" Chopper called.

"Yeah!" Luffy called back.

Jimbei walked up to the celestial dragon. "You really did a number on him, Luffy..."

Kess gently pushed herself away from Zoro. She knelt down, and picked up the celestial dragon's pistol.

"Kess, what are you doing?" Zoro said.

Kess stopped when she was about a foot away from the unconscious world noble. She pointed the pistol at his head. The gun shook, amplifying the trembling of her hand.

"Kess?" Zoro asked, a nasty suspicion rising in his throat.

Kess spun the rotating chamber, and, fighting back tears, shot.

"KESS!" Zoro shouted in alarm.

When the smoke cleared, there was no bullet hole. The shot was a blank.

Kess turned around, and tossed the gun aside. Her expression said it all. _A blank... Damn._

She turned and ran to the fishman on the ground, who was being helped up by Jimbei.

"Y-you shouldn't have done that..." he managed.

"Just stay quiet, son..." Jimbei muttered. "We'll be out of here in a flash."

"Guys!" Nami called. "The navy's coming!"

Zoro took Kess' hand in his. "C'mon." he said. "Let's get out of here."

Kess shot him a pleading look.

"We can't do that! Brook's the only one guarding the ship! We need to get back."

She gripped his hand hard. She gave him that glare that really reminded him of Hawk-Eye.

"I understand how you feel about this, but how are we going to get them off Mariejoa? We can't take that many people on the Sunny."

Kess dug her heels into the ground. She gave him a reproachful look.

Zoro facepalmed. "Fine! Okay!" he snapped.

Kess grinned. She gave Zoro a tight hug.

"You really owe me one." he said. He took a deep breath, and called at the top of his lungs. "Hey! Luffy!"

Luffy stopped, and whipped around. "Yeah?" he asked.

Zoro took a deep breath. "We're taking a leaf out of Tiger's book!"

Luffy frowned for a moment, thinking. Then, his face cracked into a wide grin. "Right!" he said.

He turned to everyone in the crew, and shouted, "HEY! EVERYONE! LET'S FREE EVERYONE!"

Zoro pulled out Wado ichimonji, and dashed to the nearest group of slaves. He slashed off their collars in one slice.

The slaves, most of them around Zoro's age, looked up at him in fear.

"WELL?" Zoro snapped. "Get going! Don't let anyone catch you!"

They all nodded, and bolted.

Zoro looked over his shoulder to see how the rest of the crew were doing. Nami was giving some guards the shock of their lives. Luffy was causing general rubbery chaos. Jimbei, even with an injured fishteen on his shoulder, was knocking marines out of his way like straws and feathers. Chopper was plowing though groups of marines with his kung-fu point.

It was with a flash of annoyance that Zoro noticed Trafalgar Law walking leisurely through the chaos. "Well." he said calmly. "You people are causing unnecessary chaos. Like usual."

Kess stared at Law with wide eyes. She stepped behind Zoro's legs, so that she'd be out of Law's sight.

Zoro was about to say a scathing remark when he sensed someone coming up behind them. "DIE, PIRATE SCUM!" Quick as lightning, Zoro had snatched Kess out of the way of a sword strike, and slashed a giant marine.

He turned to Law. "Take Kess to the ship, would you?" he said, pushing Kess towards him.

Neither of them looked very happy about that. Law frowned, his eyebrows forming a pretty impressive V.

Kess, on the other hand, stared at Zoro in absolute horror. She tightened her grip on his hand.

Zoro looked down at her. "Don't worry." he said. "He's a friend."

Kess gave him a very doubtful look. Zoro had to say he couldn't blame her. Trafalgar Law didn't look like someone who could be trusted. Especially not when he was glaring at her like she was a spare part that he had no idea what to do with.

Kess shook her head frantically.

Zoro bopped her over the head gently. "No, you can't fight." he said. "You've been put through enough. Law will take you back to the ship. Right?" he added with a sidelong glare at Law.

Law shrugged. "Fine." he said. "C'mon, kid."

Kess didn't move. She just gave Zoro a pleading look.

Zoro pushed her forward. "No. you can trust him. If he does anything funny, I'll kick his ass later."

Kess gave a small smile. She walked up to Law, but stood a few feet away.

"Alright." Zoro said. "I'm off." He dashed into another mansion, looking for more slaves.

* * *

Law didn't like the idea of taking a snot-nosed little brat back to the strawhat's ship. He hated the fact that Roronoa Zoro had managed to order him around. The worst part was, the little rugrat was skittish, moving away from him like he might hurt her, then running back to his side whenever a marine or a Mariejoa guard got close. He didn't mind if she stayed away from him, but this constant shifting and recoiling was driving him insane. They had to run, and this was slowing them down.

After the fifth time this happened, Law couldn't take it anymore. When the kid dashed to his side, he grabbed her hand, and didn't let go, even when she tried to pull it free. "Give it a rest..." he sighed. "No matter how tempting it is right now, I'm not going to hurt you."

The kid didn't look too convinced about this. Her eyes flitted from his face to the hand that was holding hers. Her face drained of colour and she screeched to a halt.

"Hey kid, we have to move." Law said. "Only one person is standing guard on your ship. We need to get a move on."

The kid gave him a scared look. Then, she tensed. She whipped around and grabbed something out of the air. She gasped in pain. She opened her palm, and Law gasped.

It was a bullet! That kid had caught a bullet!

She blinked back tears.

"Here." Law said. He took her hand, much to the kid's displeasure. The bullet had made a good-sized cut across her palm, and was half-buried in her skin. "How did you do that, anyway?" he asked.

The kid didn't say anything. That didn't surprise Law. She hadn't said anything, not even to Zoro.

Law didn't wait for her to answer. "How did you awaken such a strong form of observation haki?"

The kid stared at him in confusion.

_She must not know what I'm talking about... _he thought.

Law raised his hand over the kid's, and said, "Room." A dome of blue light formed over the kid's hand. Law made a few quick movements, and the bullet popped out of her hand.

The kid's expression went from fear to a kind of timid thankfulness.

"You're welcome." Law said. Then, he sensed someone up behind them. He created a room around them, and they disappeared.

With a snap, they hit the deck of the Sunny.

The kid opened her eyes, and smiled. She turned to him, and gave a quick bow of thanks.

"No problem." he said.

A huge shadow loomed over him. The skeleton musician was standing over them, looking absolutely delighted. "Kess! You're alright! Yohohohoho! That's great!"

Kess? So that was her name. Would it have killed Roronoa to tell him the kid's name, considering the fact she didn't talk much.

Kess smiled at him and gave a timid wave.

"Law-san," the skeleton, Brook was it, said. "Where is everyone else?"

"Freeing slaves." Law said. "I'm sure they'll be along in-" he paused. "Oh, there they are now."

A large crowd of people was running towards the ship. Of course, Mugiwara-ya was at the head. Most of the people following him were slaves. He caught sight of Roronoa, the cat burglar, the demon woman, Jimbei and that fishteen, the liar, the cook, the kung-fu reindeer, and the cyborg in the flood of people. They were being chased by marines.

"Excuse me a moment." Law said. He walked out on the dock, and raised his arms. "Room." he said. Blue domes appeared around the slaves, the marines, and the rest of the strawhat pirates. He concentrated, and they disappeared. The strawhats appeared on deck, the slaves appeared on two or three marine battleships, and the marines appeared in the ocean.

Law turned to the slaves in the warships. "Well?" he called. "Get going! Before they catch you!"

There was a frenzy of movement, and the warships slowly drifted off to sea.

Law stepped back on board the Sunny. "Well, let' go!" he said.

Luffy jumped up, and shouted, "Set sail!"

Frankey and Usopp cut the ropes that kept the Sunny against the pier. Sanji hit a button on the Sunny's control board, and activated a coup de burst, and they launched away from the Mariejoa pier, and off into the open ocean.

* * *

Zoro stared at the receding sprawl of Mariejoa. He sighed with relief. They had managed to get in and out of Mariejoa quickly, without losing anyone.

He turned to Kess, who was in the middle of a knot of people. The look on her face was one he didn't expect. Kess was shying away. She wasn't scared of them anymore. What was she playing at?

"I think Kess is tired and unstrung." he said. He took her hand. "C'mon." he said quietly. "You should get some sleep."

Kess looked up at him, and motioned for him to wait. She ran up to where Jimbei and the fishteen were. She knelt next to the fishteen, and bowed a bit.

The fishteen turned towards her, wincing in pain. "Don't mention it." he said. "I couldn't bear to see that fishbowl bastard shoot you. For a human..." He took a deep breath. "You're not so bad."

Kess' face turned a little pink, then she got up, and returned to Zoro's side. She took his hand, and followed him off deck.

* * *

After he took Kess to her hammock, Zoro went into the kitchen. The place was packed. The whole crew was there. The fishteen was sitting next to Jimbei, a good distance from the rest of them.

Sanji placed cups of tea in front of everyone (Zoro noticed that his was a little cold) then sat down.

There was a short, awkward pause. Finally, the fishteen spoke. "Uh..." he said awkwardly. "I suppose I ought to say it." He took a deep breath. "Thank-you. I've been in Mariejoa for two years... I didn't think I'd ever get out." He stopped, taking another shaky breath.

Luffy, who was practically bouncing with excitement in his seat, leaned forward a bit. "So, you met Kess a few days ago, Marco?"

The fishteen frowned. "It's Mako." he said. He eyed Luffy suspiciously. "I met her two days ago..." he said. "She was really taking it hard. I think she thought someone had died."

Zoro felt one of his veins throb. He glared at Law. He couldn't help but think that Law had done things the way he'd done just for fun. He could have cut the celestial dragon in two, gotten Kess away from the guards. Instead, Law had cut off his head, and completely ignored her. Then again, Law couldn't have known Kess was with him.

Mako looked at Zoro with just a spark of fear. "It was you, wasn't it?" he said. "The way Kess reacted when she saw you was enough of an indication."

Zoro nodded.

Mako frowned. "Well, just to let you know..." he said. "No matter how tough Kess is, I don't know, I didn't see her fight at all, slavery is a very traumatic thing. I was caught when I was four years older than she is now, and what happened to me scarred me for life."

Zoro groaned. He put his head in his hands. How could he have let this happen? He looked up at Mako again. "Thank-you for looking out for her." he said. "I'm sure the fact that she had a friend made it a lot less hard on her."

Mako looked away from Zoro, his brown cheeks slightly flushed. "I-it's nothing." he said.

The rest of the crew stared at this dialogue, not saying anything. Finally, Nami took a deep breath. "What are you going to do now, Mako?" she asked. "You obviously can't go back to Mariejoa."

Luffy jumped up. "I know!" he said enthusiastically. "You can join the crew!"

Mako frowned. "No." he said. "I'm sorry... But after what I've experienced, I can't travel with a group of humans. Not even if big boss Jimbei is travelling with you. I- I just can't."

Luffy pouted. "Awww..." he said. "You look really nice."

Mako sighed. "I... I guess there's nothing stopping me from staying." he said. "Besides, I'm not gonna lie, I hate humans. Kess is the only exception I've found so far. Maybe you guys could give me a reason to consider myself corrected."

Luffy grinned. "YAY!" he shouted. "A new nakama!"

Mako looked flustered. "I didn't say I'd join!"

Zoro caught his gaze. "If you decide to travel with us, you're our nakama. No matter how short a time you stay."

Mako nodded, then, he gave a small smile.

* * *

When Kess had jumped into her hammock in the girls' room, it had felt like she had died and gone to heaven. It had only been about three days, but it felt like an eternity.

Sighing, Kess tried to bury even further into her hammock, as if it could form a protective cocoon around her. She took a deep breath. It smelled like sweat, salt, and muggy air. All the comforts of home.

She groaned internally. She was tired, had been scared out of her wits, and sore all over. She rolled over on her stomach and rested her head on her forearms.

What a fiasco the last three days had been. Kess couldn't remember ever feeling more exhausted. The only thing that even came close was that time the king humandrill had captured her the year before. Zoro had saved her from that, too.

What on earth had happened at Mariejoa? What was going to happen?

Suddenly, a horrible thought occurred to her. What would happen when her dad found out? The thought made her feel nauseous.

_Don't think now..._ she thought. _Just go to sleep. Your problems will be there in the morning..._

**So, Kess is rescued from Mariejoa along with a new nakama! A round of applause for Mako!**

**Mako: I'm not joining. I'm just staying with them for a while. Just until we reach the spot over Fishman island. **

**Kess: (scratches something down on her notepad) ****_Just accept it. You're our nakama._**

**Mako: Fine. **

**Kess: ****_Please review! XD _**

**(Looks at Mako) ****_What does XD mean, anyway?_**

**Mako: No idea. **


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey everyone! Sorry for the wait! So, as a special treat, here's Luffy to say the disclaimer!**

**Luffy: Gimme an M! Gimme an E! Gimme an A! Gimme a T! M-E-A-T! MEAT!**

**FM13: (facepalms) Luffy, that's not what I wanted... Just say the disclaimer. **

**Luffy: Fine. Frostmoon13 doesn't own One Piece or any of it's characters. Only her OCs. **

Chapter 8

Nami strode down the hall to the baths. So much had happened since they had made their way to Mariejoa less than three days before, and to her chagrin she hadn't been able to shower for that amount of time. She hated that thought.

She stepped into the bath area, and caught sight of Kess sitting in the water, a towel still wrapped around her body. The water was up to her neck, and she was staring into the steam, an oddly dazed look in her eyes.

"Hey, Kess." Nami said. "Want me to wash your back for you?"

Kess turned around, looking startled. She calmed down a little bit when she noticed it was only Nami, but she shook her head frantically, then sunk until her small nose just cleared the water.

"Okay..." Nami said. "I'll take that as a 'no'."

_What's gotten into her?_

Sanji strode down the hall towards the kitchen, heart-shaped plumes of smoke billowing from his cigarette. He couldn't wait to make lunch for his dear Nami and Robin.

He swept into the kitchen, feeling lighter than air, then stopped when he saw Kess sitting at the table.

Kess didn't look so good. She was very pale, and there was a faraway look in her eyes as she stared at her hands on the table.

Sanji stepped up to her and put his hand on her shoulder. He wasn't very good with kids, but Kess was his nakama. He was willing to help her, and she looked like she needed help. "Hey Kess." he said. "What's the matter?"

Kess looked up, and immediately pulled away. She looked more than nervous. She looked afraid.

Then she seemed to notice Sanji for the first time. She bowed slightly, as if apologizing. Then, she darted away.

"Hmm..." Sanji muttered. "What's wrong with her?" he said.

* * *

"Something's wrong with Kess."

Zoro didn't need anyone to tell him that. He had noticed it too.

He had ran into her that morning. She had nodded slightly, then, when he tried to ask her a question, she darted away. It was very strange.

By the second day of this, Zoro had had enough. He was going to figure out what's going on.

He ran into Kess again in the afternoon. She had skipped breakfast and lunch.

When she hung around anyone at all, she went to Mako, the fishteen.

Zoro ran into Kess in the hallway to the kitchen. When she caught sight of him, she nodded a bit, then turned to run away again.

Zoro caught her by the arm. "Wait a minute." he said.

Kess' eyes flashed with fear for a second, but she turned to face him.

"What's wrong with you?" he asked. "You've been very... distant since we got back." Zoro found it very confusing. It suddenly occurred to him that Kess hadn't acted this way since a little over a year ago, before he had saved her from the king humandrill.

"Something's wrong, Kess. You know you can tell me what it is."

Kess shook her head again.

Zoro raised his hand to place it on her shoulder, and Kess flinched. She visibly flinched.

That's when Zoro realised that Kess had been scarred by her time in Mariejoa more psychologically than physically. He let go of her arm, and stepped back. "I'm sorry." he said. "This is making you uncomfortable... It never occurred to me."

Kess shifted from one foot to another, staring at the floor. She looked like she was agonising over a decision. Finally, she took a step towards Zoro and gave him a sidelong look.

Zoro frowned. "Where do you want to go?"

Kess grabbed his hand and led him off, up the rigging, and into the crow's nest.

Jimbei and Mako were there, Jimbei staring out at the ocean, Mako absent-mindedly lifting a seven hundred pound weight.

Kess gave them a sidelong look, but didn't move away. She led Zoro to the other side of the crow's nest.

Zoro sat down cross-legged. "So?" he said. "What's wrong?"

Kess gave him a very nervous look, then tugged at her shirt, pulling it so the fabric wouldn't touch her back.

"Your back?" Zoro said. He paused when Kess gave him a warning glance. "What's wrong with it?" he asked more quietly.

Kess undid her belt, and turned around.

Zoro, ignoring how awkward this might have been under other circumstances, lifted up her shirt, slightly. He nearly had a heart attack. "Kess..." he said. "What in all the hells...?"

There was a mark on Kess' back. Not just a mark, but a brand. It looked a bit like an animal's hoof, with a circular pad, and four triangles forming toes. It looked very new, still red and and black in places.

Zoro ran his finger along the brand in disbelief. The branded skin was wrinkled, brittle, and dry as sandpaper.

Kess winced.

"Sorry." Zoro said. He should have known. "You've had that for how long?"

Kess held up three fingers.

Zoro paled. "Three days?! Why didn't you see Chopper about it yesterday?"

Kess stared at her feet.

He put his hand on her shoulder. "You know going to see a doctor isn't a show of weakness."

Kess raised her eyebrow at him.

Zoro frowned. "Of course I take my own advice!"

Kess gave him a look that said it all. _Sure you do._

"But what on earth is that mark?" He muttered.

"I'll tell you what it is." Mako spoke up from the shadows. "It's the hoof mark of the celestial dragons. The mark of a slave."

"What?!" Zoro said, astounded.

Jimbei nodded. "You weren't there when I explained the mark of a slave."

Mako's expression darkened. "The celestial dragons brand their slaves, to show who they belong to. They serve as a constant reminder that slaves are sub-human." he growled.

Zoro felt rage and regret consuming him. If he hadn't been so careless on Fairweather none of this would have happened. He also felt he should have killed that celestial dragon while he had the chance. Kess had given him more than he deserved by letting him live.

He stood up and took Kess' hand. "C'mon." he said. "I'm taking you to see Chopper."

* * *

Chopper sat in sickbay, flipping through one of his many medical books. He had spent the past day taking care of Mako, and now he was looking forward to some time on his own. He had tried to give Kess an examination the day before, just to see how she was doing. She had avoided him, though. She spent most of her day in the bath area, and reacted a lot differently than Nami and Robin when he came in.

Chopper was in the middle of a paragraph on ulcers when he heard the door creak open.

He looked up to see Trafalgar Law.

Law was leaning against the doorframe, looking at Chopper work. He didn't say anything, he just stared. Finally, he said, "You don't mind if I join you, do you?"

Chopper shrugged. "Nope." he said. "I think Luffy was looking for you, though."

Law grunted as he sat down. "That's why I'm here..."

Chopper laughed. "Is Luffy annoying you?"

"Rubber brat won't leave me alone." Law groaned. He had shadows under his eyes. "Keeps trying to get me to play tag. I've been avoiding him all morning, or trying to."

"Well, feel free to stay in sickbay for as long as you like. Fellow doctors are always welcome."

The two of them sat in silence for a moment, Chopper reading his book, Law dozing off, his head on his chest.

Then the door burst open, making both of them jump.

Law inhaled some of the drool that had been threatening to spill from his mouth.

Zoro and Kess, who were now standing in the doorway, stared at Law in disbelief as he doubled over in a coughing fit.

"Zoro, what's up?" Chopper asked.

Zoro frowned. "Kess has something to show you, actually. See if you can do anything about it."

Chopper nearly threw up when he saw the brand. He hated to tell Zoro the truth, but he couldn't sugar-coat things with him. "Zoro, there's nothing I can do about that brand. She'll have that for the rest of her life."

Kess blinked hard.

Chopper motioned to Zoro to put Kess on the examination table. He could at least heal any other injuries she had. He frowned when he saw her cut. "Zoro." He said. "I'm going to give her a mild sedative and a rather powerful anesthetic. This wound is going to need to be stitched up."

Kess seemed to understand that that meant she was going to have an injection. She tried to bury herself into the crook of Zoro's arm, shaking like a leaf.

Zoro couldn't believe that Kess, who could fight off a small battalion of marines, was afraid of getting a shot. It didn't make a lot of sense to him.

Law stood to the side, looking annoyed. Finally, he raised his hand. "Room... Prepare."

Kess' grip on Zoro slackened. She slumped against him, dozing lightly.

"you may thank me later." Law said, smirking.

"what did you do?" Zoro asked, more in astonishment than anger.

Law undid the room, and leaned against the wall. "It's just a move that I perfected for patients such as her. I can't believe I actually had to use it, though." He paused, as if considering his next comment carefully. "Her fear is slightly misplaced, I think."

Zoro nodded. "Could you teach Chopper to do that?"

Law chuckled, as Chopper kept working.

* * *

"There! Finished!" Chopper said as he cut the cord.

Zoro stared at Kess' arm. The wound was stitched up, and chopper had put a fresh bandage on it.

Kess was still snoozing, the corner of her mouth twitching occasionally.

Zoro ruffled her hair. _Poor kid..._ he thought.

He turned to Chopper, going to ask a question, when Nami burst in through the door.

Her hair was a mess, she was breathing heavily. In her hand was a crumpled newspaper roll.

"What's wrong, Navigator-ya?" Law asked.

Nami coughed, gasped, then said, "There's something you guys should see."

**Luffy: Thmsh ish good!**

**FM13: Give me a break... You broke into my fridge again... **

**Luffy: (obviously scents danger) Uh! I'll do the rest! Please review! (very nervous XD) **


	9. Chapter 9

**Hello! Here's the next chapter! **

**Zoro: Good. I was starting to get bored. **

**FM13: How could you have been bored?! You were in the last chapter! **

**Zoro: Yeah. So? **

**FM13: Well, if you're bored, you can say the disclaimer.**

**Zoro: Fine. Frostmoon13 doesn't own One Piece or any of it's characters. Only her OCs. **

Chapter 9

"What's going on, Nami?" Robin asked. She was the last to have heeded Nami's instructions and come onto the deck.

"Listen up, everyone!" Nami said, walking in a circle so she passed every one of them.

Zoro found this rather ominous, especially since Nami was standing and pacing around. He was sitting cross-legged on the grass with Kess on his lap. What on earth was she doing?

Kess shifted slightly. Zoro hadn't wanted to leave her unattended in sickbay in case she woke up. She stirred and opened her eyes.

"Hey, squirt." Zoro said. "Have a good nap?"

Kess blinked groggily. She turned on her side, and nuzzled into the crook of Zoro's arm.

Luffy leaned over, staring at Kess "Is she ever gonna wake up?" he asked .

?"Luffy!" Nami snapped. "Shut up!" She slammed the newspaper onto the deck. "Look at these."

Quite a few pieces of paper scattered everywhere.

The crew's reactions were mixed, to be sure.

Luffy's eyes lit up. "Sugoi!" He shouted.

Zoro smirked. "We'll, whaddaya know..."

Robin smiled serenely.

Frankly did his usual pose. "SUPER!"

Chopper blinked. "No way."

Law chuckled coolly.

"Yo ho ho ho ho!" Brook laughed.

Jimbei nodded. "We should have known this would happen."

Usopp paled. "That much... All I did was free a few slaves..."

Sanji groaned. "Not again..."

Mako stared at one of the papers. "Kes..." He said. "You..."

Kess opened her eyes again. She blinked, then, her eyes lit up. She gave Zoro a big smile, excitement shining in every feature of her face.

Zoro patted her shoulder. "Yes, I'm really proud of you, Kess." He said.

Nami stomped her foot so hard everyone jumped. "I DON'T THINK ANY OF YOU FULLY UNDERSTAND THE SITUATION!" She shouted.

Zoro stared at the wanted posters that covered the grass in front of him.

MONKEY D LUFFY : five hundred and seventy million berries

RORONOA ZORO: four hundred and fifty million berries

NICO ROBIN: three hundred and forty-five million berries.

FRANKEY: three hundred million berries

TONY TONY CHOPPER (pet) : one hundred million berries

TRAFALGAR LAW: five hundred and thirty million berries.

BROOK: two hundred and fifty million berries

JIMBEI: four hundred and forty million berries

SOGEKING: three hundred and four million berries

NAMI: two hundred and ninety million berries

SANJI: four hundred and ten million berries

KESS: seventy million berries

Zoro shrugged. "Well, of course our bounties would go through the roof. We did break into Mariejoa, assault if not kill one of the celestial dragons, and freed enough slaves to fill two navy warships. We might as well have burned their flag again."

Nami lowered her head in frustration. "You people..." she grumbled. "Are hopeless. Do you not understand what this means?!"

Luffy laughed. "It means we're really well known now!"

Sanji stepped in to stop Nami from striking Luffy. "It means we'll have tougher competition than ever. Things are about to increase tenfold in difficulty."

Kess walked over to her wanted poster and stared at it. Slowly, she bent down, picked it up, and walked over to Zoro. She held it out and gave him the sad eyes.

Zoro knew what she was asking at once. He patted her head. "Yes, Kess." he said. "I'm sure Hawk Eye is going to be very proud of you."

Kess grinned. Then, she paled.

Law was standing over them, studying Kess' wanted poster with a serene look on his face. "Well." he said. "That bounty is nothing to sniff at, kid."

Kess stepped back. Zoro couldn't blame her, Law must have looked rather creepy to her. She nodded slightly, her eyes not meeting his. Then, she quickly turned away, hiding behind Zoro.

Law chuckled. He turned away. "Of course, the bounty might belie the personality."

Behind Zoro's shoulder, Kess flushed scarlet.

Zoro looked at Kess. It struck him that Kess looked... more than embarrassed. He had seen Kess embarrassed before, but he had never seen her look so ashamed and offended.

That's when Zoro realised it.

Law had called Kess a coward. That comment that might have been ignored by someone else had really cut deep for her.

Zoro felt an odd surge of irritation as well. Law hadn't seen Kess fight off the smaller humandrills on Gloom island, hadn't seen her fight the pacifistas, didn't know that she'd saved the ship from a battalion of marines. He hadn't even noticed her on Fairweather when she had tried to protect him from the celestial dragons.

He knew Kess was probably thinking the same thing.

Kess stood up, and brushed the dust off her shirt. She started walking the way Law had gone.

Zoro grabbed her wrist. "Hey!" he whispered. "What are you going to do?"

Kess gave him a determined look.

Zoro sighed. "Look. I'm not trying to tell you not to. But be careful. There are better people to tell off."

* * *

Mihawk stared at the newspaper the news coo had dropped off that morning. He frowned. Why the hell did the straw hats want to break into Mariejoa. He had read the article over and over again, and he couldn't see a motive in their actions.

Of course the news reporter had a theory. Mihawk found the thought of 'causing mindless chaos' might have been a good guess for other pirates, but Mihawk knew the strawhats better than that. Besides, Mariejoa was way out of their way. Then there was the matter of them freeing slaves...

Mihawk sighed in exasperation. He had a theory, but he prayed he was wrong.

All the people involved in the break-in were shown underneath the article, with charges written under their photos.

There were only two charges under Kess' picture. Assault of marine officers. Escape.

Mihawk found 'escape' very ominous. He had always been skeptical about leaving Kess with the strawhats. Of course, he wasn't sure how good a job he would do if he had taken Kess with him. He had been plagued with indecision and worry lately, things that he prided himself in never feeling. It was driving him to distraction.

He had come to the very difficult decision of asking for help. Of course, under normal circumstances he would have rather lost his left arm than visit the man he was going to see.

Mihawk sailed to a promising looking island. It was small, with a lush green forest and sandy banks. From the looks of the treetops, there was a clearing in the centre of the island. Just the kind of island _he_ would like.

Sure enough, on the other side of the island, the galleon with the dragon masthead bobbed in the deeper water surrounding the island.

"Well..." Mihawk sighed. If he was going to do this, he wanted to get it over with as soon as possible.

Mihawk expected the crew he was visiting to freak out and start running for their captain shouting "BOSS! WE GOT TROUBLE!" His guess was right on the money.

He didn't even stop. He just trudged through the forest, making his way to the centre of the island.

He stepped into the clearing, and immediately ducked. A large flagon hit the tree behind him. It would have brained him if he hadn't moved. "I see you're just as childish as ever."

He recoiled as Shanks skipped up to him. His cheeks were flushed and he was grinning like an idiot. "Hey, Hawk Eye! Great to see you! You don't come to visit me often!"

"Are you hung over again?!" he said in disgust.

Shanks grinned. "I can't not drink on a day like today!" he held up a wanted poster. A grinning face and the back of someone's head fluttered in the wind.

**WANTED**

**MONKEY D. LUFFY**

**570 000 000 BERRIES**

"I know." Mihawk said. "I guess you've heard about the fiasco at Mariejoa."

Shanks nodded enthusiastically. "Luffy's really making a name for himself! I'm so proud of that kid!"

"I wish I could say the same thing." Mihawk said sullenly. He was suddenly embarrassed that he sounded like a moody teenager.

Shanks seemed to calm down. "Whaddya mean?" he asked.

Mihawk held up Kess' wanted poster.

Shanks took it and studied it. "Hey... Isn't this...?"

"It's Kess."

Shanks' face split into a wide grin. "Well! That's incredible! Your little girl's finally made it!"

Mihawk groaned. That wasn't exactly what he was feeling. "She had a bounty before. Just a little over a million berries."

Mihawk sighed, and decided to bite the bullet. "I don't know what to do." he said, finally.

Shanks smiled. "Well, what do you think you should do, Hawk Eye?"

Mihawk wasn't too happy about that answer.

"Kess has a bunch of new friends now. She's strong. What's there to worry about?"

"One of her charges was escape." he said.

Shanks motioned for Mihawk to sit next to him on a fallen log. "Well," he said as Mihawk sat down, a good foot away from him. "If you ask me, Hawk Eye, I think you're finally realising what it's like to be a parent. Seeing your kid leave the nest is causing you more worry than it should. It's all perfectly normal."

Mihawk felt very awkward. Especially since Benn Beckman and the rest of Shanks' entourage were standing just a few feet away, oddly quiet. "I... I never even considered myself her father." he said.

"But you do now." Shanks said. He laughed. "Jeez, Hawk Eye... How long did it take you to admit that?"

Mihawk thought for a moment. He never thought of it before, but life just didn't seem the same without the constant annoyance that was Kess on his mind.

(flashback starts)

Mihawk docked his small coffin-like boat at the destroyed dock of Gloom island. The rain was pouring down in a solid sheet, just as it had been all day. Mihawk was happy he'd missed most of it. In the morning, all that would be left of the rain would be muddy puddles, a sweet scent in the air, and sopping wet baboons.

Mihawk strolled along the path. The castle loomed in front of him, a dark silhouette against a sullen sky.

Mihawk reached the door, his head bowed in the rain. The doors, though made of thick oak slabs, opened easily.

The hall was dark and gloomy, except for the small candles that acted as a kind of guidelights.

Mihawk set Yoru down on the table in the great hall. He sat down in the puffy red chair that he had found the previous year, and poured himself a glass of wine. He took a sip, and leaned back, closing his eyes. It was good to be home again... free of responsibility and annoyance for a while.

A loud crash scraped against his eardrums.

He groaned. Maybe he had thought too soon. Opening his eyes, he saw a black plume of smoke escape from the kitchen, and a small shadow stumbling out, doubled over in a coughing fit.

Kess looked up when she heard him clear his throat. Her tanned face was smeared with soot, obscuring her freckles. Her fuzzy blue hair was sticking up every which way, and her clothes were filthy. She grinned her five-year-old toothy grin and waved at him.

Mihawk sighed in exasperation. He didn't want a mess to clean up already... He restrained himself from cuffing the little annoyance upside the head. "What were you trying to do?" he asked.

Kess grabbed his hand, and pulled him into the dark cloud of smoke. She sat him down at the table, and put down a plate in front of him.

Mihawk stared at the contents in mixed horror. It looked like scrambled eggs, but they were so burned that they looked more like charcoal. He picked up his fork and took a tentative bite.

_It tastes like charcoal, too..._ he thought.

Kess sat next to him, swinging her legs back and forth, bouncing in her seat. Worst part about it was, she was watching him eat.

_I'm glad this smoke is obscuring my vision of this kitchen..._ Mihawk thought in growing certainty that the kitchen was a disaster area.

(flashback ends)

"So, what would you have me do?" Mihawk said.

Shanks smiled again. "Well, all I can tell you to do is 'let it be'."

**Please review! XD**


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